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Nibali all but celebrates Tour victory

Italian can taste the champagne after winning a mountainous Stage 18
Astana team manger Alexander Vinokourov clenches his fist as he leans out of the Astana team car window to watch Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali cross the finish line to win Stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday from Pau to Hautacam, Pyrenees region, France. Nibali is all but ensured the Grand Tour victory with three stages to ride. “We said, ‘We need to show that there’s a boss,’” Vinokourov told French TV.

ARGELES-GAZOST, France – Vincenzo Nibali crushed everyone on the final mountain leg of the Tour de France on Thursday, all but ensuring he will be crowned champion when the race will end in Paris in three days.

On the big, final climb of Stage 18, the Italian broke out of the peloton, chased down breakaway riders, and rode solo in front for the final eight kilometers (five miles) uphill.

Nibali, who captured his fourth stage of the Tour, stuck out his tongue, tapped his chest, and raised a fist skyward as he finished the 145.5-kilometer (90-mile) leg more than a minute ahead of Thibaut Pinot of France, who was second. Rafal Majka of Poland was another two seconds back in third.

The remarkable effort by Nibali, set to become the first Italian to win the Tour since Marco Pantani in 1998, essentially reduced the race drama to who will join him on the podium on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday.

“I didn’t want to lose command. My goal was to win here,” Nibali said. “It was important to me to win another stage in the Pyrenees. The team worked really hard and this victory is for them.”

He also is set to become only the sixth rider to win all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain. He won the 2013 Italian Giro and the 2010 Spanish Vuelta.

One man basking at the finish line was Alexandre Vinokourov, the general manager of Nibali’s Astana team, and a former rider who was expelled from the 2007 Tour for blood doping. He said the stage victory was “not by chance.”

“We said, ‘We need to show that there’s a boss,’” Vinokourov told French TV. The last time the term “boss” was used regularly at the Tour was when a doped-up Lance Armstrong won seven in a row.

While three stages are left, Friday’s mostly is flat and unlikely to allow a breakaway rider to gain time. The last real challenge will be Saturday’s individual time trial, but Nibali’s lead is so big – 7 minutes, 10 seconds ahead of Pinot and 7:23 ahead of France’s Jean-Christophe Peraud – that it would take a disaster for him to lose the yellow jersey before Sunday.

“It was a very good day, but Nibali is untouchable,” said Pinot, who rose a spot from third.

The race for second heated up: Alejandro Valverde of Spain lost crucial seconds on the final climb and fell from second overall to fourth, two seconds slower than Peraud. But Valverde is considered a stronger time-trial rider than Peraud and Pinot.

“Everything is possible,” Valverde said. “Before, I was ahead; now, I’m behind. But it’s very tight; I’m pretty happy.”

After setting off from Pau, riders tackled the famed Tourmalet pass – the highest Pyrenean peak on this Tour – before heading up to Hautacam ski station. Both climbs are among the toughest in professional cycling.

Two breakaway riders, Blel Kadri, a Frenchman who won Stage 8, and Mikel Nieve of Spain, were the first over Tourmalet more than 4½ minutes ahead. But by the valley below, the duo had lost two minutes; Nibali’s chasing bunch was gaining.

That partly was because Valverde’s Movistar squad bolted ahead in a challenge to Nibali. The Italian didn’t let that last long, and Valverde was caught within a few minutes. By the foot of Hautacam, the main contenders were bunched together.

Then, American Chris Horner, who beat second-place Nibali in the Vuelta last year, broke away. Nibali stayed with him, and then, rounding a curve and looking back for the peloton, burst ahead. Nibali said later he had memories of Horner’s Vuelta victory in mind. That said, Horner was little threat for the Tour title: He was about 35 minutes behind when the stage began.

On the way up, Nibali’s shoulder whacked the outstretched elbow of a woman speaking on a mobile phone on the side of road, with her back to the peloton. He winced briefly.

“Happily, it wasn’t serious for her or me,” Nibali said.

Stage 19 on Friday in southwestern France likely will end in a sprint finish, and Nibali and his Astana teammates will keep a close watch on the riders closest to him in the general classification. They no longer are rivals nor challengers.

Tour de France

ARGELES-GAZOST, France – A brief look at the 18th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday:

The Stage: 145.5 kilometers (90 miles) from Pau to the summit finish at Hautacam, rated “beyond category” in the Tour jargon to describe the most difficult climbs. Along the way was the famed Tourmalet climb, a 2,115-meter monster also beyond a rating.

Winner: Vincenzo Nibali. The Italian known as The Shark won his fourth stage in dominant style, dropping French climbing specialist Thibaut Pinot and leaving him to finish 1 minute, 10 seconds back in second place. Polka dot jersey holder Rafal Majka was third, 1:12 back.

Yellow Jersey: Nibali. He extended his lead in the overall standings and is all but assured of victory in Paris and becoming only the sixth man to ever win all three of cycling’s Grand Tours.

Quote of the Day: “He’s probably considered the surprise of the race, but I’ve known his potential for quite a while now, and it’s unfolding for everyone to see,” Tinkoff-Saxo team boss Bjarne Riis said of Majka.

Stat of the Day: 15. The number of seconds that separate second-placed Pinot from third-place Jean-Christophe Peraud and fourth-place Alejandro Valverde, with just three stages left.

Next Stage: Friday’s 19th stage is a 208.5-kilometer (130-mile) flat stage from Maubourguet north to Bergerac in the scenic Dorgogne region. One small hill 13 kilometers from the finish likely will not be enough to prevent a mass sprint finish, where Germans Andre Griepel and Marcel Kittel and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff will try to add to their haul of stage wins.

Associated Press

Tour de France

Largest Gaps

Note: The largest gaps between first and second place entering the final three stages of the Tour de France’s general classification since 1994. All leading riders but Voeckler eventually won.

x-Armstrong was stripped of all titles after admitting to doping. No overall winner was declared.

y-Pereiro was awarded the yellow jersey after eventual winner Floyd Landis was stripped of his title for testing positive for synthetic testosterone.

z-Schleck was awarded the yellow jersey after eventual winner Contador was stripped of his title for testing positive for clenbuterol.

1994 (18 stages) – Miguel Indurain led Richard Virenque by 7:22

2014 (18) – Vincenzo Nibali leads Thibaut Pinot by 7:10

1997 (18) – Jan Ullrich led Virenque by 6:22

1999 (17) – x-Lance Armstrong led Fernando Escartin by 6:15

1998 (18) – Marco Pantani led Bobby Julich by 5:42

2000 (18) – x-Armstrong led Jan Ullrich by 5:37

2013 (18) – Chris Froome led Alberto Contador by 5:11

2002 (17) – x-Armstrong led Joseba Beloki by 5:06

2001 (17) – x-Armstrong led Ullrich by 5:05

2009 (18) – Alberto Contador led Andy Schleck by 4:11

2004 (17) – x-Armstrong led Ivan Basso by 4:09

1996 (18) – Bjarne Riis led Ullrich by 3:59

2005 (18) – x-Armstrong led Ivan Basso by 2:46

1995 (17) – Indurain led Alex Zulle by 2:46

2012 (17) – Bradley Wiggins led Froome by 2:05

2007 (17) – Contador led Cadel Evans by 1:53

2008 (18) – Carlos Sastre led Frank Schleck by 1:24

2003 (18) – x-Armstrong led Ullrich by 1:05

2011 (18) – Thomas Voeckler led A.Schleck by :15

2006 (17) – y-Oscar Pereiro led Sastre by :12

2010 (17) – z-Contador led A.Schleck by :08

Associated Press



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