Vincenzo Nibali, Giro d’Italia stage 20

Snow-battered and having to comeback from an unscheduled rest day due to the awful weather conditions, it would have been easy for Vincenzo Nibali, in the maglia rosa, to simply defend his lead on the climb of Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Sticking with his rivals, nobody would have begrudged The Shark a tactical, defensive ride in the penultimate stage of this year’s Giro. But the Astana man does not do defensive.

With visibility almost nil, as thick snow continued to fall on the mountain, Nibali chose the steepest section of the climb to blow his rivals away. Bursting clear from a group containing Colombian climbing aces Rigoberto Uran and Carlos Betancur, Nibali dropped the hammer and then some. Powering on through the throngs of adoring fans, he soloed to the summit finish alone – his face contorted by the demands of such an effort – to all but seal the second Grand Tour victory of his career.