Vincenzo Nibali, Tour de France 2012
Vincenzo Nibali vented his frustration with Brad Wiggins today following his attack in the Tour de France's 10th stage to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
"If he wants to be a great champion," Nibali said, "he has to have a little bit of respect for his rivals."
Nibali spoke to a small group of journalists while sitting on the steps of Liquigas-Cannondale's team bus. He talked about his solo attack in the 194.5km stage from Mâcon to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and Wiggins.
Nibali used his descending skills and shot free as Wiggins' group sped into the valley and towards the final Col du Richemond climb. He said, "The idea was to throw Sky on the back foot and isolate Wiggins."
Sky brought Nibali under control with only two kilometres left before the top of the Richemond's pass. It continued to lead the group to the line, where it arrived 32 seconds behind Van den Broeck. According to Nibali, Wiggins taunted him at the finish. He turned, looked him in the face and waved as if to remind Nibali of his presence.
"If he wants to be a great champion he has to have a little bit of respect for his rivals, because sometimes, to look at someone like that in the face is offensive," he explained.
"I'm not going to say cuss-words, but you need to have respect for your rivals. Today, as you know, they are going strongly, but the tables turn for everyone.
"I'm talking about respect amongst the cyclists. Riders have never kicked or punched each other as they do in football. There's always just been a lot of respect for rivals. So, for me, there's this respect. To turn and look a rival in the face, as he did, that's not very great in my opinion."
Nibali will have another chance to face Wiggins and Sky tomorrow when the race encounters its second of three summit finishes. He currently sits fourth overall, 16 seconds behind Sky's Chris Froome, but he aims for a place on the podium in Paris.
"It's different tomorrow, a mountaintop finish, but it's not a very hard climb. It's a short stage, though. The short stages sometimes are able to shake the GC even more," Nibali said.
"You need to see what the GC guys are going to do, because if they are going to only attack solo, against Sky it's hard. I've got courage, you guys. It's the others that truly need to show that they have courage."
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Tour de France 2012: Teams, riders, start list
Tour 2012: Who will win?
Tour de France 2012 provisional start list
Tour de France 2012 team list
Tour de France 2012: Stage reports
Stage 10: Voeckler wins and saves his Tour
Stage nine: Wiggins destroys opposition in Besancon TT
Stage eight: Pinot solos to Tour win as Wiggins fights off attacks
Stage seven: Wiggins takes yellow as Froome wins stage
Stage six: Sagan wins third Tour stage
Stage five: Greipel wins again as Cavendish fades
Stage four: Greipel wins stage after Cavendish crashes
Stage three: Sagan runs away with it in Boulogne
Stage two: Cavendish takes 21st Tour stage victory
Stage one: Sagan wins at first attempt
Prologue: Cancellara wins, Wiggins second
Tour de France 2012: Comment, analysis, blogs
Analysis: What we learned at La Planche des Belles Filles
Analysis: How much time could Wiggins gain in Tour's time trials
CW's Tour de France podcasts
Blog: Tour presentation - chasing dreams and autographs
Comment: Cavendish the climber
Tour de France 2012: Photo galleries
Stage 10 by Graham Watson
Stage nine by Graham Watson
Stage eight by Graham Watson
Stage seven by Graham Watson
Stage six by Graham Watson
Stage five by Graham Watson
Stage four by Graham Watson
Stage three by Graham Watson
Stage two by Andy Jones
Stage two by Graham Watson
Stage one by Graham Watson
Prologue photo gallery by Andy Jones
Prologue photo gallery by Roo Rowler
Prologue photo gallery by Graham Watson
Tour de France 2012: Team presentation
Sky and Rabobank Tour de France recce
Tour de France 2012: Live text coverage
Stage 10 live coverage
Stage nine live coverage
Stage six live coverage
Stage five live coverage
Stage four live coverage
Stage three live coverage
Cycling Weekly's live text coverage schedule
Tour de France 2012: TV schedule
ITV4 live schedule
British Eurosport live schedule
Tour de France 2012: Related links
Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Cavendish
Brief history of the Tour de France
Tour de France 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index
1989: The Greatest Tour de France ever
Reader comments
Add your comments
Austin
July 11 19:36
Is it respectful to other riders to keep sniping in the press? Nibali was the first to show disrespect when he claimed Wiggins did not impress him - if you give it out, be prepared to take it.
Paul G
July 11 19:40
'Tour frustration' .. sounds rather apt in this case.
Devonport
July 11 19:44
Nibali launches an attack on a downhill descent and fails. And at his disappointment he has a go at Wiggins because he looked at him. Sounds like Nibali should show some respect rather than mouthing off, especially for the maillot jaune. I hope he fails to even make the podium so he looks like an even bigger fool.
SirVelo
July 11 19:44
What goes around, comes around Nibbles! Nibali showed scant respect for Wiggo in his appraisal of the British rider. "Wiggins doesn't impress me" and "he's not good at descending" are two opinions which come to mind. Take, a long hard look in the mirror first fella before you go slagging others off for lack of respect!
Tim B
July 11 19:53
What goes around comes around. NIbali did say that he was not impressed by Wiggins. So where was the respect towards Wiggins when he said that?
Panjandrum
July 11 20:14
Has no-one told Nibbles it's disrespectful to your rivals to talk about what goes on in the peloton?
Nod
July 11 20:43
Given Wiggins comments about Evans he's proven he has respect for those that have earned it.
Andy
July 11 20:44
All mouth no lycra...
Kevin Blackburn
July 11 21:11
Yeah - right - Nibali: 'I don't rate Wiggins' 2-days ago - that's respect...NOT!!
scott taylor
July 11 21:17
Nibali telling Wiggo how to be a great champion? He would earn more respect if he had won something notable, 2nd in the Giro is the best he's achieved in a grand tour. Maybe he needs to count the amount of gold medals hanging round Wiggo's neck and check his palmares before slinging mud. His comments will do nothing more than fire up Wiggo and Team Sky. The actions of a desperate man - He's worried about someone looking him in the face? If he had the legs they would do the talking!
Don Danberry
July 11 21:18
Sounds like the talk of someone who knows when he's beaten by a better rider...
dai bananas brother
July 11 21:28
Dai's missus says the only one who is impresssing her (apart that is from cuddly little Tommy Voeckler) - in that he is quietly getting on with it -, is van den Broeck. Put in a pretty coool move today and she backed him at 80/1 with the each-way option down at the bookies yesterday. All that swearing! Ofnadwy duw duw.
JD
July 11 21:30
Niblai should remember the old maxim that people show you respect when you're earned it.
Brian
July 11 21:31
To this observer Wiggins is the most miserable maillot jaune since Rasmussen, and on top of that we're now seeing glimpses of spitefulness a la Armstrong. I'd love to see this boorish ass taken down a few rungs, though I doubt it will happen in this Tour.
smitty
July 11 21:41
What a princess. Upset because anpther competitor made a face?! Worse things can happen you wuss. Grow a pair and ride on. And BTW, in euro soccer that so called punching and kicking is tantamount to a little girls slapping fight. Take a lesson from Jens and man up.
Samuel G
July 11 22:13
actually scott taylor Nibali won the vuelta in 2010, it was generally agreed to be one of the hardest Vueltas ever and Nibali one with great panache. I am enjoying his presence in the race, the tittle-tattle is a sideshow that can easily be ignored
John
July 11 22:36
RE: scott taylor. Nibali won a Grand Tour in 2010.
Louise Edwards
July 11 22:40
Although it sounds anti-British, I agree with Brian. I think that Wiggins is arrogant, and not a true team player. He is quick to state his own strengths, yet slow to acknowledge those of his domestiques or competitors. He is not a gracious winner. And as for his swearing outburst at the press conference - unprofessional and disrespectful.
Nigel
July 11 23:54
Brad has been appropriately respectful towards his rivals when interviewed, including Nibali. I suspect that Nibali was misquoted a little originally and that he was simply trying to express the view that Brad didn't scare him - an entirely reasonable stance for a GC contender and one that he's living up to. He has however made a couple of commments bigging up Chris Froome that were, in my opinion, intended to try to stir up rivalry in the Team Sky camp and it's possible that Brad decided to play a little mind-game of his own in exchange..! On the outburst at the press conference, I don't condone it but Brad himself in one interview said he didn't regret expressing his views "except maybe the [bad] language" - like many other clean riders he's had to put up with dopers dragging the sport's name trhough the mud and now, as he's reaping the benefit of the clean-up of the sport he has to put up with anonymous twitter users making the same sort of allegations about him - not surprising he doesn't like it..! As for the arrogance, he's actually a very down to earth guy - I've been in a group at Herne Hill and he's rocked up with his son on his shoulders to say "Hi" to the father of a rider he raced against when younger and he was very unassuming and willing to answer any question posed. He admits he doesn't find the mdeia relations aspect of his job easy and, like Cadel Evans before him, a slightly prickly persona at times is probably part of his defence.
Chris Leyman-Nicholls
July 12 00:06
@Louise Edwards. Disrespectful to who? He was having a rant at those who accuse him of doping when no such evidence exists. That is just the sort of situation for which swearing was invented for!
S. Huffer
July 12 00:48
I like Nibali and really enjoyed his attack today, but he really needs to nut up. Bradley was clearly giving him a cheeky reminder of his disparaging comments a few days ago. Maybe it's another example of the Saxon/Latin divide? I can't see many Northern Europeans getting so upset about such a piffling matter.
David j Messenger
July 12 06:52
Nibali, as others have said look to yourself first you showed no respect to Wiggins or Evans with your comments, sounds like you are a poor sportsman... and a bad loser, when your tactics failed !
Andy
July 12 07:41
Sorry Louise, but that's utter tosh! Wiggo has repeatedly talked of his respect for other competitors & frequently praised his team-mates - without5 any prompting, I might add. Wiggins is not miserable, nor is he "a boorish ass" - he is frequently witty & open with the press, but at the same time, I don't see why he should have to take the sort of nonsense off the press that he does for being good at his job. None of us would be terribly happy if we were at the top of our profession & people started saying we must have cheated to get there. As for Nibbles - I think that's a case of him reaping the whirlwind - he's getting the "respect" his comments have earned.
Max
July 12 07:50
Nibali should have a few words with team-mate Sagan. His antics at the end of stages don't show much respect for the other riders.
Phil
July 12 08:14
Nibali's rant has all the hallmarks of a frustrated man. He cannot drop Wiggins on the climbs or beat him in time trials. His only weapon on the road is the descents. I would say Evans is in the same position also. Nibali is using mind games to try and unsettle Sky and Wiggins. It only works if you have the tools to do the job. Nibali does not. I love the way that Nibali refers to Cobo beating Froome and Wiggins in the Vuelta last year. Nibali was in that race too. He ought to keep his mouth shut. It's becoming embarrassing for him. As for Wiggins not being a gracious leader of the race. i think he has been very respectful to Evans, his team mates and the race. The swearing the other day was uncalled for, but that just Bradley being himself. I hope he goes on and wins it.
Jon
July 12 08:57
It didn't take long for the Wiggo haters to crawl our from under their rocks. Nibbles I can understand, but cycling fans... Disappointing, but not surprising. Wiggo will never play the media game so you'll have to get used to his rough edges. Sorry.
Organised Confusion
July 12 10:21
Nibali needs to 'put up' or shut up. He has spent the last 10 days telling the entire Peloton how he is not 'impressed' by Wiggins nor Sky. How has he therefore shown any respect for the yellow jersey?. Bloody hypocrite. If he wants to gain some credibility himself he needs to take the race to the race leaders, and you need to have a little more in your armoury than an acknowledged ability to descend. If you're not ' impressed' Nibali, show us why we should be 'impressed' with you?. The weight of Italian expectation appears to be taking it's toll.
Paul
July 12 11:13
The great thing about the British rider in the peleton (Millar, Wiggins and Cav primarily) is that they speak their mind. They are open and honest and they don't care about ruffling feathers. They are openly anti-doping, Sky made a great stance on this when they came into being. The European riders traditionally don't like this approach. It took a long time for the likes of Millar to the respect where he's now seen as one of the peleton's leaders. Same for Wiggins. Because he is outspoken and frank, some of the traditionalists in the peleton won't like it. I love it. Great to hear a sportsman speak from the heart and not reel off a load of PR guff like footballers do. And quite right he is to Nibali in his place. If you can say it in the press but you can't say it to his face then it's you who is showing disrespect. Have some respect for the yellow jersey, will you Nibali.
Carn Soaks
July 12 14:10
Hey, did anyone notice Jump the Shark get a lift from his team car right infront ofthe camera in stage 10? He was away infront of the peleton pushing away up the hill and had a "SaxoBank??" rider on his tail. He asked for a "Drink" and whilst holding onto the bottle got a push away from the other rider. Supremely unfair and a bit of a rought if you ask me. He broke the spirit of the fella on his wheel by making a 10 metre gap with the cars assistance plus getting a speed upage from 20 to 30kms. How much effort does it take a rider on his own to achieve that sort of outcome? DESRVES A FINE & IME PENALTY. Sure riders off the back who may have had a nature break or crash/flat might have the blind eye turned, but not when you are out trying to attack the leaders like he was... Play Fair NIBALI or GARNGET
The_Kaner
July 13 11:55
Petit Filou! Petit Lip....greetin' aboot a 'look' from Wiggins... Nibali showed no respect when he commented on Wiggin's abilities... pot/kettle.. I wonder what people must make of Tommy Voeckler's face pulling antics then... ' I have no respect for Tommy Voeckler...vot ees all zees face puuling..' haha...time to grow up ..and as most have echoed...let the legs do the talking...