“I felt like was riding in a washing machine” – Vincenzo Nibali reflects on his first Tour of Flanders

Vincenzo Nibali entered the Tour of Flanders partly as preparation for the cobbled stage of this year’s Tour de France and partly just to see what he might be capable of. He finished 24^th and also launched the attack that drew out the eventual winner, Niki Terpstra.

"I was a bit afraid to attack but I wanted to have a go," he said of that moment. "That was a stretch where the road was climbing gradually. We'd spoken about anticipating the attacks, sometimes they can work out well, but when Terpstra he came up to me, all I could do was try to stay on his wheel because honestly, he was riding at a really very high rhythm. Then my legs said no."

ATTACCA NIBALI

Lo Squalo ci prova a 28 km dal traguardo, è vivo Vincenzo #Nibali #EurosportCICLISMO | #RVV18 pic.twitter.com/qJlFD6OqSr

— Eurosport IT (@Eurosport_IT) April 1, 2018

Speaking to Cycling News, he said of his Tour of Flanders debut: "It was like being in a washing machine. There wasn't a moment to catch your breath because the speed was so high all day. I didn't make any specific preparations for this race, so I think it went quite well. I'm very happy. I think it was a nice race, very particular. I'd never experienced anything like it before."

Nibali has won all three Grand Tours and recently added Milan-Sanremo to his two wins in the Tour of Lombardy. Liege-Bastogne-Liege – another of cycling’s five Monuments – remains his major goal for this spring, but a more serious attempt at the Tour of Flanders could potentially follow in the years ahead.

"This Sunday will be a test for me to see if maybe in the future, next year or further on, I can do a more specific programme based around the Tour of Flanders,” he had said before the race, and speaking afterwards this still seemed to be the plan.

"I'd need to make a more tailored build-up for a race like this, and I'd need to do all of the races leading up to it,” he said.

Nibali boarded a flight from Brussels to Bilbao last night and is due to start the Tour of the Basque Country today.