Mission accomplished for Italian Vincenzo Nibali who left home at 15 to pursue his dream on two wheels
Tour de France champion made many sacrifices to stand on the podium in Paris
As a teenager, Vincenzo Nibali uprooted himself from his home in Sicily to head for Tuscany - and a career on a bike.
Off to join a cycling programme and move in with another family, Nibali left behind the video and photo shop of his father, a cycling fan, where the boy whiled away many hours watching footage of riders like Italian greats Felice Gimoni, Giuseppi Saronni and Francesco Moser.
He left behind his grandfather, an Italian who once immigrated to Australia then returned to Sicily to build a big house. Nibali reportedly said he cannot really speak much with his proud grandfather about his Tour de France these days: He cries too much.
I always ride in front in the classics, in attack mode, even when I'm sick
"I have made a lot of sacrifices," he said. "I left my family when I was 15 years old."
Those sacrifices paid off in full on Sunday, when the boy from Messina ascended the Tour winner's podium after an opportunistic, level-headed and savvy ride over three weeks to earn the most prized honour in professional road cycling on the Champs-Elysees.
Humble and serene, Nibali has given Italy what some call the antithesis of its last Tour champion: flashy and flamboyant Marco Pantani - "the Pirate" - who was celebrated as a national hero after his 1998 victory. Pantani's life came to a tragic end in 2004 in a drug overdose.
ibali watched and respected his predecessor as a rider.
