Vincenzo Nibali signs two-year deal with Trek-Segafredo
Vincenzo Nibali will leave Bahrain-Merida to join Trek-Segafredo for 2020 on a two-year contract.
Trek-Segafredo announced the official signing on Thursday after months of rumors and reports linking the Italian star with the team.
“I followed my heart and chose for this team, knowing that their project is very serious and competitive,” Nibali said via the announcement. “The great confidence Trek and Segafredo and all the other sponsors are showing in me is very motivating. I am really happy to continue my cycling career at Trek-Segafredo and look forward to 2020.”
Nibali, 34, has won all three of cycling’s Grand Tours, winning the Giro d’Italia in 2013 and 2016, the Tour de France in 2014, and the Vuelta a España in 2010. He also counts three Monument victories on his list of career of achievements, with two wins at Il Lombardia and one at Milano-Sanremo. He finished second overall at this year’s Giro and won stage 20 at this year’s Tour de France.
Nibali has ridden with Bahrain-Merida since the team’s inception in 2017, but he has been reportedly set on making the transfer to Trek for months. According to Cyclingnews, Nibali and Bahrain-Merida engaged in talks to sign an extension, but Nibali began to look elsewhere after the squad would not match the terms he wanted.
Vincenzo Nibali on stage 20 of the Tour de France. Photo: ©kramon
Italian coffee sponsor Segafredo was keen to bring one of Italy’s best known riders aboard, and ultimately made the deal to sign both Vincenzo Nibali and his brother Antonio Nibali.
“We are all very excited to have him with us as of next year, and we are confident he will battle again for an overall victory in a Grand Tour,” said Trek-Segafredo general manager Luca Guercilena. “Vincenzo’s younger brother, Antonio, 26, will join the team as well. He’s a solid rider that still has quite some margin for progression, so we hope to see him develop into a strong helper in the years to come.”
Nibali’s arrival at Trek-Segafredo makes him the team’s most accomplished Grand Tour rider, but the squad does have Richie Porte on the roster as well. Porte told Cyclingtips at the Amgen Tour of California this year that he would welcome the then-rumored signing of Nibali. It remains to be seen how the team will approach the three-week races in 2020.
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