In February Vincenzo Nibali won the queen stage, finishing on the Green Mountain, and the overall classification at the Tour of Oman.

Preparing for the Giro d'Italia, one of the two main targets of the season, he raced the Italian one-day race Strade Bianche, the stage race Tirreno–Adriatico, where he finished in 6th position overall – conditioned by the cancellation of the queen stage – and Milan–San Remo where he tried an attack on the descent from the Poggio but was caught by the peloton.

He returned to racing in April at the Giro del Trentino, where he demonstrated a bad condition and finished far from the winner Mikel Landa.

The last race before the Giro was Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the most important of the Ardennes classics, concluded more than two minutes behind the winner after being distanced on the Côte de Saint Nicolas.

Nibali entered the Giro d'Italia as the pre-race favourite.
On Stage 14, the queen stage of the race, featuring six categorised climbs before the descent to Corvara.
Nibali lit up the fight for the GC on the final climb to Valparola, attacking with 27 kilometres (17 miles) to go.
His attack distanced the Movistar Team's Andrey Amador and Alejandro Valverde, who both lost three minutes on the stage.
However, Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL–Jumbo) attacked close to the summit, with Esteban Chaves (Orica–GreenEDGE), and the pair dropped Nibali, who lost more than half a minute after the stage.
Chaves took the stage honours after outsprinting Kruijswijk, who took the maglia rosa.
Stage 15 was the third individual time trial of the race, featuring the ascent to Alpe di Siusi.
Kruijswijk extended his lead to more than two minutes over second-placed Chaves as Nibali suffered a mechanical on the climb, losing more than two minutes in the process.

Stage 16 was a short stage which was won by Valverde, who outsprinted Kruijswijk on the line.
Kruijswijk extended his lead in the general classification to three minutes as Chaves lost 42 seconds while Nibali cracked on the last climb.
He lost almost two minutes to drop to fourth overall, almost five minutes down.
Stage 19 was the first to head into the high mountains, featuring the Cima Coppi, the Colle Dell'Agnello, and a subsequent descent and climb to a summit finish at Risoul in France.
On the descent of the Colle Dell'Agnello, Kruijswijk crashed whilst trying to follow Nibali.
The day proved to be a redemption for Nibali as he won the stage after dropping Chaves on the climb to Risoul.
In tears after the finish, the Shark dedicated the win to Rosario Costa - a young cyclist from Nibali's junior cycling team, who had been killed two weeks before.
Meanwhile, Kruijswijk crossed the line almost five minutes down on Nibali and more than four minutes behind Chaves.
Chaves took the maglia rosa with a 44-second advantage over Nibali as Kruijswijk, who would later be diagnosed with a fractured rib, fell to third overall at a minute and five seconds behind.
Stage 20 was the final decisive stage in terms of the general classification, with three first category climbs and the steep third category climb to the finish at Sant'Anna di Vinadio.
Nibali attacked on the penultimate climb, distancing Chaves and the other GC contenders, and made up the deficit to Chaves to claim his second Giro d'Italia ahead of the final stage in Turin.

Nibali's other main target of the season was the Olympic Road race.
Nibali bridged across to the leading 6 man group on the penultimate descent of the Vista Chinesa circuit with teammate Fabio Aru, and on the final climb of the race he broke clear with Rafał Majka and Sergio Henao.
However, Nibali and Henao crashed out of the race on the final descent during the Olympic Road race, with Nibali suffering a broken collarbone.
In February Vincenzo Nibali won the queen stage, finishing on the Green Mountain, and the overall classification at the Tour of Oman.
Preparing for the Giro d'Italia, one of the two main targets of the season, he raced the Italian one-day race Strade Bianche, the stage race Tirreno–Adriatico, where he finished in 6th position overall – conditioned by the cancellation of the queen stage – and Milan–San Remo where he tried an attack on the descent from the Poggio but was caught by the peloton.
He returned to racing in April at the Giro del Trentino, where he demonstrated a bad condition and finished far from the winner Mikel Landa.
The last race before the Giro was Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the most important of the Ardennes classics, concluded more than two minutes behind the winner after being distanced on the Côte de Saint Nicolas.
Nibali entered the Giro d'Italia as the pre-race favourite. On Stage 14, the queen stage of the race, featuring six categorised climbs before the descent to Corvara. Nibali lit up the fight for the GC on the final climb to Valparola, attacking with 27 kilometres (17 miles) to go. His attack distanced the Movistar Team's Andrey Amador and Alejandro Valverde, who both lost three minutes on the stage. However, Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL–Jumbo) attacked close to the summit, with Esteban Chaves (Orica–GreenEDGE), and the pair dropped Nibali, who lost more than half a minute after the stage. Chaves took the stage honours after outsprinting Kruijswijk, who took the maglia rosa. Stage 15 was the third individual time trial of the race, featuring the ascent to Alpe di Siusi. Kruijswijk extended his lead to more than two minutes over second-placed Chaves as Nibali suffered a mechanical on the climb, losing more than two minutes in the process.
Stage 16 was a short stage which was won by Valverde, who outsprinted Kruijswijk on the line. Kruijswijk extended his lead in the general classification to three minutes as Chaves lost 42 seconds while Nibali cracked on the last climb. He lost almost two minutes to drop to fourth overall, almost five minutes down. Stage 19 was the first to head into the high mountains, featuring the Cima Coppi, the Colle Dell'Agnello, and a subsequent descent and climb to a summit finish at Risoul in France. On the descent of the Colle Dell'Agnello, Kruijswijk crashed whilst trying to follow Nibali. The day proved to be a redemption for Nibali as he won the stage after dropping Chaves on the climb to Risoul. In tears after the finish, the Shark dedicated the win to Rosario Costa - a young cyclist from Nibali's junior cycling team, who had been killed two weeks before. Meanwhile, Kruijswijk crossed the line almost five minutes down on Nibali and more than four minutes behind Chaves. Chaves took the maglia rosa with a 44-second advantage over Nibali as Kruijswijk, who would later be diagnosed with a fractured rib, fell to third overall at a minute and five seconds behind. Stage 20 was the final decisive stage in terms of the general classification, with three first category climbs and the steep third category climb to the finish at Sant'Anna di Vinadio. Nibali attacked on the penultimate climb, distancing Chaves and the other GC contenders, and made up the deficit to Chaves to claim his second Giro d'Italia ahead of the final stage in Turin.
Nibali's other main target of the season was the Olympic Road race. Nibali bridged across to the leading 6 man group on the penultimate descent of the Vista Chinesa circuit with teammate Fabio Aru, and on the final climb of the race he broke clear with Rafał Majka and Sergio Henao. However, Nibali and Henao crashed out of the race on the final descent during the Olympic Road race, with Nibali suffering a broken collarbone.
Vincenzo Nibali