Vincenzo Nibali's only win with Trek-Segafredo was at the Giro di Sicilia last October.

The 37-year-old will ride the Giro d'Italia next month with Miguel Angel Lopez, but admitted before the Corsa Rosa that his form is an unknown quantity.

Nibali initially planned to tackle several monuments this spring, but decided to concentrate on the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.

He returned to racing in late March, riding Milan-Torino, Settimana Coppi e Bartali (11th overall), and GP Industria, but not Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo.

"It was a difficult year with COVID and tonsillitis," Nibali told La Gazzetta dello Sport (open in new tab). That's how I prepare for the Giro. You have to get used to a season that is a little bit out of the ordinary. It's not easy.

"After my comeback in Coppi e Bartali I was in good shape, so I went straight to the Canary Islands to train on Mount Teide. From there I came here to Sicily. I think it went well and this stage will be another block.

"There is no direct comparison. For me, too, I don't know what I'm really like. If something good comes out of it, I'll be more than happy. And I will run Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

The Giro di Sicilia started Tuesday morning in Milazzo, near Nibali's hometown of Messina.

"To be honest, coming back to these roads has a certain effect," Nibali said.

"There are strong mixed emotions. You train with your teammates and you're like, 'I know this area,' or 'I need to be careful here.' There are a lot of emotions, and I inevitably lose focus on other things."

In October, Nibali completed the final stage of the Giro di Sicilia, Mascari, postponed by the pandemic, alone, to win the overall ahead of Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde to win the overall.

He will leave in 2022 carrying number 1, and Astana-Cazakstan is one of three WorldTour teams in the race, along with Trek-Segafredo and Intermarché-Wanti-Gobert.

The event, which finishes atop Mount Etna on Friday, also has a fellow Sicilian among the favorites to win. Damiano Caruso will be wearing the colors of the Italian National Team this week. This will be his first race since leading Bahrain Victorious teammate Matej Mohoric to victory in Milan-San Remo.

"I spoke to him a while ago and he was very emotional because it was his first Giro di Sicilia," said Nibali, who raced with him in Tuscany as a young rider under 23 after moving north from Sicily.

"We are symbols of this region. A while ago he said to me: 'I'm going to run for the national team and you're going to run for the national team. 'I'm going to run for the national team, why don't you come with me?

"At last year's race, he was hiding among the public, and when I passed by, he shouted: ...... I recognized his voice. I turned around and it was him, teasing me with that 44-toothy smile."