Tour 2015: Vincenzo Nibali | Astana

FACT FILE
Age: 30
Height: 1.81m
Weight: 65kg
WorldTour ranking: 105
Wins in 2015: 0
Career wins: 30
Days racing in 2015: 35
Best Tour GC finish:
Winner (2014)
Km raced in 2015: 5,641
Form rating: ++

Last year’s Tour victory was a surprise to those who saw Vincenzo Nibali as consistent but unspectacular. One of just six riders to have won all three Grand Tours (after adding the Giro in 2013 to his 2010 Vuelta triumph) there should be little doubting the Italian’s class. He has gone under the radar again this season, with his best result a forgettable 10th at the Tour of Romandy, behind Chris Froome, Thibaut Pinot, Nairo Quintana and Romain Bardet.

At Tirreno-Adriatico he was 16th overall, again failing to mount a challenge to his Tour rivals. It was, however, a similar story in the build-up to last year’s Tour when he went on to spend just two days without the yellow jersey on his shoulders. He seized control of the race before Froome hit the deck on stage five and Alberto Contador on stage 10. The 30-year-old Italian, who is strong on the descent as well as the climb — a legacy, perhaps, of the BMX and mountain biking days of his youth — has been relatively lightly raced this season, with just 35 days in the saddle compared to the 45 he had put together before the 2014 Tour. Last year his build-up was meticulous yet unspectacular — will it work again this year?

Key support
It looked touch-and-go for a while, but Astana will be taking the start line in Utrecht. And duly reprieved by the UCI, Alexandre Vinokourov will undoubtedly put out a strong supporting cast for his lead rider. Michele Scarponi, part of a rich vein of Italian blood that runs through the squad, has been around for years and has a Giro win under his belt, while GC stalwart Jakob Fuglsang is in fine form. Add in Lars Boom, Lieuwe Westra and Tour veteran Andriy Grivko, and this is a fearsome unit.