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Pro bike: Vincenzo Nibali’s custom Merida Scultura for the Giro d’Italia

One-off design features gold banderole with the names of every previous Giro winner

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) will start the Giro d’Italia looking to add a third Corsa Rosa title to his palmares and the Italian will ride this one-off Merida Scultura.

Except it’s not any old custom machine – Merida have used real gold to create the bike on which Nibali hopes to become only the eighth rider to win the Giro d’Italia three times.

The design is inspired by the Giro’s spiral-shaped trophy and, as a result, features a banderole made from real gold leaves, applied to the top layer of carbon and protected by a clear coat finish.

The design features a gold banderole with the names of all previous winners of the Giro d'Italia
Vincenzo Nibali's Merida Scultura for the 2017 Giro d'Italia
Vincenzo Nibali's Merida Scultura for the 2017 Giro d'Italia

The gold banderole features the names of all the Giro’s former winners and carries the word ‘centenario’, Italian for centenary, in honour of this year’s 100th edition of the Italian Grand Tour.

Nibali will line-up as second-favourite for the Giro behind Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, who is bidding for a second title after previously winning the race in 2014.

The 2017 Giro will start with a 206km road stage in Sardinia on Friday (May 4), before concluding with a 29.3km individual time trial in Milan on Sunday May 28.

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