Vincenzo Nibali finished in 16th place overall at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Astana leader was satisfied with this performance and hopes to improve his conditions for the next races. “I wasn’t super in this Tirreno-Adriatico but I’m happy all the same because I got in an excellent block of work during the race that I’m sure will turn out to be useful to me,” Nibali told Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian rider said that he can not be competitive with his current weight. “I had never come to this race with so few days of racing [10 – ed.] in my legs. My condition is good but not enough to win. I’m at 9 percent body fat and I’m certain that the riders who finished ahead of me are leaner. I can get to 6 percent. So you understand why I’m happy? Because once I shed the dead weight…”

Despite the absence of Le Manie from the Milano-Sanremo route, Nibali wants to race this classic. “I understand that it’s impossible to get to the finish alone from there because there’s too much road before the Poggio. You get to the foot of the Poggio dead, finished,” Nibali said. “You’d have to bring away a group of four or five riders who work together.”

“Van Avermaet’s going well and he can’t wait for the sprint, he has to move before that,” Nibali said. “Cancellara’s another who might be in contention in a sprint but he can’t rely on it. He’s ‘Cance,’ he could go from distance, no problem. Did you see how he was riding?”

“I’ll have to make a move too. But I’m not the only one who needs to explode the race.”