‘The Shark is drowning!’ – Vincenzo Nibali, Tom Dumoulin crumble on Etna as Giro d’Italia explodes into life

Vincenzo Nibali and Tom Dumoulin’s hopes of winning the Giro d’Italia again are already in tatters after the pair cracked on Mount Etna. The duo were two of three former winners in the field, alongside Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) who led home the GC favourites on Stage 4. Ad/> Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan) leaked over two minutes on Carapaz – and 4’52” on stage winner Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) – with Dumoulin faring even worse, surrendering over six minutes to the pre-race favourites.

Giro d'ItaliaContador expects 'irretrievable gaps' on Etna as Giro GC battle hots upYESTERDAY AT 16:09 The Italian won the maglia rosa in 2013 and 2016 but fell off the pace with 7km remaining on the Sicilian volcano to compound a miserable day for Astana Qazaqstan. Earlier on Tuesday, team-mate Miguel Angel Lopez abandoned the race with a hip injury. “Vincenzo Nibali out the back, oh my word.

It’s a disastrous day for Astana Qazaqstan,” said Rob Hatch on Eurosport commentary. “They were dreaming of a homecoming in pink but with around 7km to ride for the bunch behind, Vincenzo Nibali, the Shark, is drowning in the waters of his native Sicily. What a disaster." The Italian’s demise swiftly followed that of 2017 champion Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma), who was distanced from the peloton with around 10km remaining.

The Dutchman looked forlorn after finishing second behind Simon Yates (BikeExchange–Jayco) on the Stage 2 time trial. Now the reason is apparent – the 31-year-old was not in GC shape. «I’m just not feeling good, it’s like that,” Dumoulin told Eurosport atop Etna.

“I worked hard to get here in the best shape possible. Everything is OK, but I just don’t have the legs at the moment. I don’t know why, but it is like it is.» Dumoulin,