On the other side of Messina's sickle-shaped harbor, the honeyed sun was beating down on the golden statue of the Virgin. Directly across from it, in a makeshift television studio on the Corso Garibaldi waterfront, Messina's living embodiment of the city's retirement from professional cycling was choking back tears when she announced her retirement.

"I wanted to make sure that this was my last Giro and my last season," Vincenzo Nibali told RAI television's "Processo alla Tappa" after finishing stage 5 in the peloton.

Nibali crossed the finish line alongside Domenico Pozzovivo, but Pozzovivo patted his former teammate on the shoulder.

In the press room, rumors had been quietly spreading all morning. Those who had been forewarned discreetly followed Nibali as he was led by coach Michele Pallini from the finish area back to the RAI home; at 37 years old, his career is approaching its final months, and he has been a member of the RAI team for more than a decade.

When the announcement was broadcast, word quickly spread among the tifosi along the route. The messinages, who had already craned their necks to catch a glimpse of Nibali, now began serenading the local favorite: "Vincenzo, vincenzo." The chants grew louder again as Nibali descended the steps of the RAI home and stopped to talk to the reporters who were watching there.

"No, it's no coincidence that I announced it here. 'I've known for several years that there would be a stage in Messina. Like I said, my career has been long. I think it was the moment to choose the most appropriate place to announce this. And when that moment comes, after so many years, it will leave its mark."

Nibali's farewell has long been foreseen. His seventh-place finish at the 2020 Giro, delayed by the pandemic, seemed to have created a tacit understanding that he would not break Fiorenzo Magni's record as the oldest winner in the race's history. Last year, when he arrived in Milan in 18th place overall, plagued by injuries, his post-race report to the press from the passenger seat of the team van parked in Piazza del Duomo was somewhat like a celebration of his final moments.

Shortly thereafter, he announced his intention to continue his career by returning to Astana-Kazakhstan. His decision to retire was slowly coming to fruition, but he could not confirm it in the winter.

"It was clear that the time had come, but the decision was mine. It was only for me. I wanted to be here. There were many difficult moments. But I knew from last year that the Giro was coming to Sicily and that there would be a stage finish in Messina, so I wanted to come here."

Nibali's tears during the televised race recalled the emotion of his countryman Francesco Totti's retirement from soccer in 2017. Totti's final match at the Stadio Olimpico was tinged with bitterness, as he was nearly forced into retirement by AS Roma. Nibali, by contrast, had long accepted that his career was coming to an end.

He confirmed that he had no last-minute change of heart. Nibali smiled, "No, I don't think so." When a reporter pointed out that Nibali might no longer feel physically able to continue the race, Nibali feigned exasperation. I didn't say that."

Nibali still has two and a half weeks of the Giro to go, and his career will continue until Il Lombardia in October. The long farewell race will take place several times along the peninsula between now and the finish in Verona, but Nibali dismissed the idea that it would simply be a lap of honor. After losing more than two minutes on Mount Etna on Tuesday, his hopes of winning the overall have faded, but he will try to end his relationship with the Giro d'Italia in the best possible way.

"I want to achieve something with this Giro. I want to achieve something with this Giro.

"At this moment, I have a lot of mixed emotions and strong feelings."

"I want to do something with this giro. But for now, I'm going to draw a line in the sand and live the Giro one day at a time. I want to enjoy it until the finish."

Nibali's retirement leaves a void in Italian cycling. Along with Felice Gimondi, he is known as the most successful Italian rider since Coppi, but he never received the applause of Marco Pantani or the fierce rivalry of Francesco Moser and Giuseppe Saronni. [Angelo Costa of Tuttobici magazine says: "Italy is his home when he rides the Grand Tours, the big classics, and when he goes to the supermarkets to shop. When he rides in the Grand Tours, in the big classics, and when he goes shopping on his bicycle in the supermarkets, Italy expects a lot from him.

Meanwhile, for casual Italian fans, Nibali was the most recognizable face when they opened the curtains on a May afternoon and switched on their TVs; he was on the podium in all six of his Giro appearances between 2010 and 2019, and the host broadcaster always made sure that the familiar have been happy to build a narrative around a trusted face.

Longtime RAI commentator Adriano de Zan's praise of Gimondi in the 1970s can be applied directly to Nibali. Television commentators have an obligation to provide a safe product for their viewers. Nibali, like Zimondi, was a guarantor.

"The tifosi along the way always responded favorably to me. It has been beautiful all these years and it still is," Nibali said Wednesday. 'All I can do now is send them hugs.'

Nibali was jostled by supporters on his way from the finish area to a waiting van that was to take him to the ferry terminal in Messina. The final chapter of his career will begin when the strait crossing for the umpteenth time takes place on Wednesday evening.

In the early afternoon, as the route descended from the Portella Mandrazzi climb toward Milazzo and hugged the coastal road through Villa Franca Tirrena and Granatari, Nibali often gazed at the distance he had traveled. For a moment, it seemed like yesterday.

"The last 130 kilometers today I ran on the road I always trained on, the road I grew up on as a kid," he said. It was something magical, a little bit like going back in time."