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Vincenzo Nibali will not ride Paris-Roubaix in order to focus on the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France
Italian says it would have been "really cool" to ride all five monuments but it wasn't "possible"
By Adam Becket
Vincenzo Nibali will not ride Paris-Roubaix after all, as his plans to race all five monuments in 2022 were scrapped.
In an interview with Cyclingnews the Italian explained that it "wasn't possible if I also want to ride the Giro and Tour".
Nibali has returned to Astana Qazaqstan after five years away with Bahrain-Merida and Trek-Segafredo, and hopes to ride the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this year. Previous reports had suggested that he would ride both Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders in 2022.
The 37-year old said: "We talked about my race calendar for a long time with the Astana Qazaqstan management and the idea of riding all five monuments was really cool. However, after a detailed evaluation, we realised it wasn't possible if I also want to ride the Giro and Tour.
"I'd have to interrupt or even miss an altitude camp with the other riders, and maybe even miss Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It would have turned my training for the Giro upside down and so was just not worth it. We decided to focus on my strengths and to do the Giro and probably the Tour too. We agreed on that together and I've committed to it and what it entails."
Nibali has won Il Lombardia twice, won Milan-San Remo and has finished second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. These are the three monuments that he would be traditionally suited for.
He will not be riding for general classification, with Miguel Ángel López Astana's main leader for the year.
It was thought that the Italian might retire at the end of this season, with this being his 18th year. However, in the interview, Nibali suggested that he might continue for longer.
"I've signed for a year with Astana Qazaqstan but I don't want to say I'm going to quit this year. It could be the case but perhaps not," he said.
"I'll be honest, I haven't even thought about what I'll do after my racing career. I'm focused on the present, on my racing and training and enjoying it all. I can't say I definitely won't race next year, so it's possible I'll ride Paris-Roubaix and the other monuments in 2023.
"If I tell my wife that I want to race on, she'd perhaps kill me but I want to take the next few months to decide and perhaps convince her too."