Vincenzo Nibali's Merida Reacto Disc - Gallery

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Vincenzo Nibali's Merida Reacto Disc(Image credit: Stephen Farrand/Immediate Media)

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) begins his 2019 season at the UAE Tour later this month, and like all of his Bahrain-Merida teammates, will likely race on a disc-equipped Merida Reacto or Scultura.

Unlike Nibali's teammates, however, the Italian - along with Bahrain-Merida leaders Domenico Pozzovivo, Rohan Dennis and Damiano Caruso - has the option to opt out of racing discs for specific races. The remainder of the squad will race with disc brakes throughout, joining the likes of Trek-Segafredo, Katusha-Alpecin, Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-QuickStep who have all committed to racing on discs for the entire season.

Nibali has a reputation for a racing style from a bygone era, attacking on impulse and feeling as opposed to the more calculated approaches focusing on watts seen in recent years. During Nibali's foray into the cobbled Classics early last season - and again during the Roubaix stage of the Tour de France - Nibali opted for mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 gearing on his bikes, likely preferring the mechanical feedback when changing gears on the rough cobbles.