MADRID, 16 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian ex-cyclist Vincenzo Nibali, winner of the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, will run the thirteenth edition of the Andalucía Bike Race by GARMIN, which will start on February 27, as confirmed by the organizers on Thursday.
The ‘Shark of the Strait’, who retired from professional cycling last year, is now choosing to try his hand at ‘mountain-bike’ and will make his debut in the Andalusian event, which he met through his friend Giuseppe Pellegrino.
“He told me that it could be a good opportunity before facing the Cape Epic. I asked my partner Ivan Santaromita if he wanted to participate, since he has never raced in MTB, so it is a good opportunity to start to get the ‘feeling’ this running for
couples,” says Nibali.
The Italian warns that the ‘MTB’ is “a passion” that he has had since he was a “child”. “Unfortunately I had to leave this discipline on the road, but now I can dedicate much more time to it. The world of ‘MTB’ seems very fun to me and also much closer to people and, of course, in close contact with nature” , confess.
“I have raced a lot in Spain and I appreciate the support of the public. My greatest memory is winning the Vuelta (2010) and this year it was in Spain where I decided to run my last ‘big one’ as a professional, right where I won one for the first time”, comments Nibali, who expects “a tough week” at the Andalucía Bike Race.