Thursday 5 May 2016 21:35, UK
Vincenzo Nibali believes his experience and grand tour pedigree will be pivotal in his bid to win the Giro d'Italia, which starts on Friday.
The 31-year-old Italian is aiming to claim the pink jersey for the second time in his career but has been in poor form in the build-up to the three-week race.
Although he won a stage and the overall title at the Tour of Oman in February, he finished sixth at a weather-disrupted Tirreno-Adriatico in March and then a distant 21st at last month's Giro del Trentino.
But Nibali, who is one of only six riders in history to have won all three grand tours, said: "My advantage compared to other riders is that I have the experience. I have prepared for the Giro d'Italia as best I could. It's never easy trying to win a race twice."
The Giro starts in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands and ends in Turin on May 29. The course contains five summit finishes and three individual time trials, the last of which is all uphill.
Nibali is the bookmakers' favourite for overall victory but is expected to face stiff competition from the likes of Mikel Landa, who won the Giro del Trentino.
Nibali added: "Looking back at the past two years, the most-improved young rider has been Mikel Landa. He is one of my main rivals for this Giro, and there are also good young riders in Tom Dumoulin and Esteban Chaves."
The second of the three time trials starts and finishes in Chianti and covers 40.5km of rolling road.
Nibali said: "The first big day will be the time trial in Chianti, with very fast downhill sections and changes of rhythm uphill.
"The Chianti time trial could favour me over Landa. Time-trialling has always been a weakness for him, although he is a great climber and he will be the man to beat in the mountains.
"He descends well, although he isn't a real specialist. However, we can't focus on him alone when there are riders like [Alejandro] Valverde and Dumoulin in the race."
