Nibali hits back at Tour de France armchair critics after losing time
15 July 2019 09:03
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) has hit back at armchair tifosi who "watch the Tour de France on TV, drink Coca-Cola, eat popcorn, and criticise people on social media". Nibali was speaking on Sunday, the day after failing to stay with the overall contenders on stage 8 to Saint-Etienne, and so losing any chance of overall victory at this year's Tour. The Italian was distanced on the last climb of the stage and sat up, losing four minutes. He lost a further two-and-a-half minutes on stage 9 to Brioude on Sunday, slipping to 30th overall, 8:56 down on current race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep).ADVERTISEMENT The Sicilian finished second at the Giro d'Italia behind Richard Carapaz (Movistar) in early June. He had always said he would target stage victories at the Tour de France if he was unable to be competitive against riders who have specifically prepared for the sport's biggest Grand Tour, but many fans were hoping he could repeat his 2014 Tour success – especially in the absence of the injured Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin. Nibali's coach Paolo Slongo suggested that the Bahrain-Merida leader had given up mentally more than physically. That sparked criticism on social media, and Nibali responded directly to one post that suggested he should have dug deeper, saying that people don't just give up in real life. "That's not my explanation, and I don't think I need to give one," Nibali hit back via Twitter. "I do my job and my sport as best I can because I love it. If I get dropped, it's because I couldn't stay on."
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