BESANCON, France, (Reuters) – Vincenzo Nibali already has a decent set of Tour de France leader’s yellow jerseys, but he has one put one aside for Marco Pantani’s mother.
Should he prevail on the French roads, Nibali would become the first Italian rider to win the race since the late Pantani, the 1998 winner who died of a cocaine overdose 10 years ago.
“In spite of what happened to him, I would be very proud to succeed Pantani,” Nibali told reporters in a hotel car park on the first rest day of the Tour, which he leads with a 2:23 advantage over Australian Richie Porte.
Spain’s Alejandro Valverde is third, 2:47 off the pace, after compatriot Alberto Contador, twice a Tour winner, crashed out of the race on Monday.
