He's still here Ahead of his 11th Giro d'Italia appearance, a video call was made with the press room.

The audio was occasionally cut off, and one wonders if Nibali was tempted to return to a variation of a line from the 1980s when Kerry's Gaelic football team kept making it to the All-Ireland final: "Forget what I said last year."

Then again, Nibali's Giro prospects are not as straightforward as they once were: after finishing third overall in 2010, Nibali has been on the podium in all five races he has entered since, including overall wins in 2013 and 2016, making him Italy's standard bearer.

This remarkable streak was curiously interrupted in the 2020 edition, which was delayed by a pandemic, and Nibali arrived in Milan in seventh place overall. This time, Nibali returned to the colors of Astana Kazakstan and arrived at the Giro with a spring that was punctuated by illness, although his performance at the Giro di Sicilia gave him grounds for optimism.

"I don't have precise ambitions. I need to find out during the race if my condition is good enough to go for the overall or if it is better to help Miguel Angel Lopez for a stage win," Nibali said. [Conditions had improved during the Giro di Sicilia, Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Since 2010, podium finishes have been the minimum expected of Nibali at the Giro. In 2017, for example, Nibali finished third in a four-way battle with Tom Dumoulin, Nairo Quintana, and Thibaut Pinot. Two years later, he surpassed Primož Roglič, but was held up by Richard Carapaz.

Nibali missed his chance to become the oldest winner in Giro history, and his chances of taking Fiorenzo Magni's record title have since faded inexorably. On Thursday afternoon, when asked what would quantify his success in the 2022 Giro, Nibali saw nothing wrong with highlighting his accomplishments.

"I've competed in 10 Giro's and have only been off the podium four times. If I could win a stage, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but the competition is very high, so we'll see what happens."

When Nibali rejoined Astana Cazacstan last winter, director Giuseppe Martinelli (Direcca Sportif) told Cycling News that he envisioned the Sicilian enjoying a free role in the Giro. Of course, Nibali will never be completely free of the pressure of being Vincenzo Nibali when he wears the race number in his home country, but he certainly has low expectations here from the start. a year ago, he and Giulio Ciccone left Turin as de facto co-leaders of Trek-Segafredo. He left Turin as the de facto co-leader of Trek Segafredo with Giulio Ciccone. This time, he seemed to be warming to the idea of having Lopez take over the responsibility instead.

"We've only worked together in training this year, not in the races. He proved that with his stage win at the Tour de l'Alps."

Like Nibali, Lopez's dangerous life at Movistar produced more melodrama than the Sicilian's five seasons in Bahrain and Trek-Segafredo combined.

Lopez's departure from Movistar was triggered by his dramatic abandonment in the final stage of the Vuelta a España. Lopez quietly insisted that there was no such problem on Nibali's part.

"What happened in Movistar is in the past and now we are looking to the future," said Lopez, who finished third overall in this race in 2018. 'I've worked with Vincenzo in the past, raced with him, shared leadership with him. He is a great man and a great champion." I think we will both have a great Giro."

With Roglic and Tadej Pogachar missing and only 26 km of time trial for the entire trip, Lopez has reason to be optimistic about starting in Budapest. In an open race and backed by a strong team that includes Joe Dombrowski and Harald Tejada, the 28-year-old Lopez may have a great chance to make his mark on the Grand Tour. Nibali's resourcefulness will also be a key factor. Even if it gives the veteran room to dream of making his own mark along the way.

"It's hard to say where the race will be won," Nibali said. 'Everyone knows that the final week is very difficult, but there are also individual stages that are difficult as early as the first week. Even the first stage here in Hungary is a bit of a climb to the finish, and it's not a winner or a loser. There are many small difficulties. We are thinking of stages to Potenza, Naples, and Turin. It's open to interpretation."