March 21, 2023
Vincenzo Nibali adds last-minute partner for ride at Cape Epic
Retirement does not always mean hanging up race cleats and shunning competitiveness. Vincenzo Nibali is back in action, this time on a mountain bike in Absa Cape Epic . Nibali is not just participating but racing, and after the first three stages of the eight-day endurance test is in seventh place overall with teammate Samuele Porro, a six-time Italian mountain bike champion who was confirmed just a week ago for the pairing in the eight-day mountain bike stage race. The 18-year veteran ended his road career just a few months ago as one of the most decorated Italian riders to ever ride in the pro peloton, having won all three Grand Tours along the way in addition to titles at Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia. Nibali now serves as a technical consultant for Swiss ProTeam Q36.5 and is using Absa Cape Epic in a dual role to race off-road and provide feedback on team apparel. “A bit for competition and a bit for fun,” he said before the start in Cape Epic. “As an ambassador for Q36.5, the goal for this project is to test their materials, to put them under stress, in extreme conditions such as racing in high temperatures, but also in dusty, muddy, dirty conditions.” Read more Cape Epic: Duct tape saves stage 1 for new women's leaders Wakefield and Lill Absa Cape Epic: Villafane-Nash and Beers-Blevins duos win prologue Vincenzo Nibali – The farewell interview Porro brings vast experience for the off-road adventure to the Italian duo, as he has raced the South African event five times before, finishing third with Damiano Ferraro in 2016 and 2019. Four years younger than Nibali at 34, Porro referred to Cape Epic as “the MTB of Le Tour de France” and was excited to announce a partnership with Nibali just a week prior to the race when Nibali’s expected to partner Ivan Santaromita crashed out of the Andalucia Bike Race with a severe contusion on his hand. Nibali then withdrew after the first stage of Andalucia and reset his attention to Cape Epic. Nibali and Porro finished the opening day prologue in ninth place out of 50 men’s UCI teams, and after a windy stage 1, moved to seventh overall, even after technical issues caused them to lose more minutes to overall leaders, Swiss duo Nino Schurter and Andri Frischknecht for SCOTT-SRAM MTB. The longest day of the week was stage 2, 116 kilometres, with 2,550 metres of climbing in the hills outside Hermanus over a relentless route into the Akkadisberg and Paardenberg ranges. The duo finished eighth amid warm and dusty conditions on Tuesday and retained seventh overall. “Today was a very long and hard stage; we rode the whole stage on sandy ground,” Nibali posted to his Instagram feed. “Summer long gloves perform well because they dry very quickly, weigh next to nothing, and the extra protection on the fingertips ensures that my hands are protected, even during a fall.” Finishing fifth on the stage and now one spot in front of Nibali-Porro in the GC is the Canyon Northwave team, comprised of former WorldTour rider Petr Vakoč, who last raced on the road with Alpecin-Fenix in 2020-2021, and Swiss mountain bike specialist Marc Stutzmann. Another notable duo in the stage race, now in 20th position, is the EF-Easypost: SCB SRAM duo of Australian Lachlan Morton and USA’s Keegan Swenson. Former Unbound Gravel champion Ian Boswell is riding with Mitchell Docker (Digger and the Doughboy) and leading the amateur men’s category. Among the notable multi-discipline riders in the women’s peloton in the six-day mountain bike stage race is the second-placed duo of NinetyOne-songo-Specialized, which pairs Sofia Gomez Villafane of Venezuela with Katerina Nash of Czech Republic. They trail the current leaders, South African pair of Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill (Team e-Fort.net : SeattleCoffeeCo), by 5:24 after three days of racing.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Millie Bobby Brown & Jake Bongiovi Celebrate “Three Years of Bliss” Ahead of Wedding
March 24, 2024
C4Ehegcq1-A
Kate Middleton & Prince William "Enormously Touched" by Public Support
March 24, 2024
s8fig-RCjFc
Gisele Bündchen Denies Cheating on Ex-Husband Tom Brady
March 23, 2024
_SpRMagA8BM
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
'Everybody Was S----ing Their Pants': Nick Thune Jokes About Being Born in the '70s and Fatherhood
March 16, 2024
mm7Baf6o2d8
Gunna Says Tour Will Up Creativity in Rap, Endorses Flo Milli | TMZ
March 22, 2024
QfMU24fw-Qo
Reporter Taylor Lorenz Says Palace Botched Kate Cancer News Rollout | TMZ Live
March 22, 2024
o43ZucdiyEo
Riley Strain's Body Found After Going Missing in Nashville 2 Weeks Ago | TMZ NOW
March 22, 2024
1m1zM-4_Cs8
Kyle Richards hasn’t spoken to co-star Dorit Kemsley, denies sending her a ‘manipulative’ text
March 24, 2024
LqLZzDP1hm4
Jordan Emanuel on her connection to 'RHOSLC' star Meredith Marks, advice from Amanda Batula
March 24, 2024
5NPAwlOov1Y
Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary apologizes after slamming ‘fickle’ Meghan Markle in scathing interview
March 24, 2024
JWG9kitALZk
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SK Brann W - Barcelona W
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Hacken W - PSG W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SL Benfica W - Lyon W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Ajax W - Chelsea W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Brighton - Manchester City
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.