Vincenzo Nibali Wins 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico

Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas Cannondale) is the winner of the 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico. He was able to recover the 6 second deficit he had at the start of the TT stage to Chris Horner to win by 14 seconds over Horner. Nibali's effort was very impressive: he finished the 9.3 km stage in 10:56 for ninth place; one second faster than than TT specialist and Italian national TT champion Marco Pinotti.

Top 3 GC:
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas Cannondale), above, in 29h 38’ 08”
Christopher Horner (RadioShack Nissan Trek) at 14”
Roman Kreuziger (Astana Pro Team) at 26”


The winner of the stage was Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack Nissan Trek), above.
Top 3 stage winners:
Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Nissan Trek) in 10’ 36”, average of 52,641 km/h
Daniele Bennati (RadioShack Nissan Trek) at 12”
Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge Cycling Team) at 16”

Jersey winners:
Maglia Azzurra – Classifica generale (GC): Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas Cannondale)
Maglia Bianca – Classifica giovani (Young Rider): Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil DCM Pro C. Team)
Maglia Rossa – Classifica a punti(Points): Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas Cannondale)
Maglia Verde – Classifica GPM (KOM): Stefano Pirazzi (Colnago – CSF Inox)

Quotes:
Vincenzo Nibali: "I arrived at this Tirreno with more races under my belt than anyone, between Argentina and Oman. Then at home I did the right kind of training and worked very hard. And here the team was perfect. Sagan and I together can be very successful. Liquigas can now pose a double threat and by playing our cards right we can frighten everyone. The Tirreno was one of the objectives for the start of the season and the next are Milan-Sanremo and the races in the Ardennes. We are in good shape, but obviously we are going to have to work hard to maintain this level of fitness. I want to prepare my best for the most classic of races on Saturday. I know that to win it I am going to have to invent something, but I really enjoy a challenge."

Chris Horner, who almost became the first American to win Tirreno-Adriatico: "I have no mixed feelings about this. It’s been a fantastic week. The team did a great TTT to set me up to take the jersey and I defended it for a few days. Tactically I think we did a brilliant race. This is not a course that is ideal for me, but to stay on the podium is good for me. I was concerned that I might not stay in the top three. The only feeling I have about this is one of feeling great – great about the way the team worked this week and great about the way my legs feel."

Top 10 stage 7:
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 0:10:36
2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:12
3 Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:00:16
4 Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team
5 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank
6 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:17
7 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:18
8 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:20
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10 Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:21

Top 10 GC:
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 29:38:08
2 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:00:14
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:00:26
4 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:53
5 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:00
6 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:01:16
7 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
8 Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:25
9 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:31
10 Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team 0:01:33

Next up: Milan-Sanremo, this Saturday, March 17, 2012.

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