Vincenzo Nibali (born 14 November 1984) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered one of the strongest stage race riders in the world today. He rides for the Kazakhstani UCI ProTeam Astana. Born near the Strait of Messina, his nickname is the "Shark of the Strait", "the Shark of Messina" or simply "The Shark".
Nibali's biggest wins are the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2013 Giro d'Italia, and the 2014 Tour de France, making him one of only six cyclists who have won the three Grand Tours in their career.
Before the start of the 2014 race, Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, and Vincenzo Nibali were among the favourites for overall victory. Froome crashed out of the Tour on stage 5, and Contador followed on stage 10, after breaking his leg in a crash. German rider Jens Voigt competed in his seventeenth and final Tour
The Tour de France
The Tour de France is a cycling stage race held since 1903 over a current period of three weeks, although it was not staged from 1914 to 1918 and from 1940 to 1946, because of the World Wars.
French cyclists have been the most successful in the event, having won 36 of the 98 tours, although their last champion was in 1985. They are followed by Belgian riders, who have won 18, including 7 consecutive titles from 1912 to 1922. Cyclists from Spain have won 13 events.
In total, cyclists from 12 countries have won the Tour de France.
During the Tour's history, its organisers have launched a series of other jerseys. In 1933, the race's best climbers were rewarded with the King of the Mountains competition, but it was not until 1975 that the leading rider in the classification wore the distinctive polka dot jersey. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the race in 1953, the green jersey competition was started. It rewarded the consistent finishers in individual stages by awarding points depending on the place in the stage.
In 1975, the Tour organisers launched an award for the leading young cyclist, awarding a white jersey to the leading cyclist under 26 years of age in the general classification.
The first Australian to win the Tour was Cadel Evans in 2011 after being runner-up in 2007 & 2008