Nibali: There's not much room for allies in this Giro d'Italia
Vincenzo Nibali has accepted that Simon Yates was not looking to offend his Giro d’Italia rivals when he suggested that he was in such good shape that they "should be shitting themselves", with the Bahrain-Merida leader accepting that "a little bit of pepper in the interviews is never a bad thing."
Nibali and Yates swapped barbs after the stage 1 time trial on Saturday, with Nibali saying: "We’ve got to show respect for everyone who is fighting for victory in the Giro."
Yates responded: "I respect all of my rivals greatly, I didn’t mean to disrespect anybody."
The Mitchelton-Scott rider was keen to move on from any Giro d’Italia polemica on Sunday before stage 2, but made it clear he would not look for Nibali to clear the air and make up.
"Why do I need to catch up with him? I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. And if he’s taken it that way, then it is what it is," Yates said at the start in Bologna.
Yates and Nibali signed on just after each other in Bologna but there was no contact or chat to clear the air and end the polemica. Nibali was also ready to move but had noted that Yates is serious about targeting overall victory at the Giro d’Italia.
No room for allies in the Giro d’Italia
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