Vincenzo Nibali celebrated his 32nd birthday at home in Lugano on Monday but was in hospital on Tuesday to have a pin removed from the collarbone he fractured during the Olympic road race in Rio in August.
Nibali had complained about the pin at the final races of his season in Abu Dhabi and took advantage of the off season and a return from his vacation to undergo the minor operation.
The Sicilian will join his new Bahrain-Merida teammates for a training camp in Croatia in December and is set to race with the new squad for the first time in South America at the Vuelta Ciclista a la Provincia de San Juan in Argentina between January 24-29.
Nibali is almost certain to confirm that the Giro d'Italia will be his major goal of 2017.
Nizzolo wins Giglio d'Oro award in Tuscany
Italian national champion Giacomo Nizzolo was awarded the prestigious Giglio d'Oro award in Tuscany on Monday in recognition of his successful 2016 season.
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The Trek-Segafredo sprinter won seven races this season, topping the special Giglio d'Oro classification. He failed to win a stage at the Giro d'Italia but took a second points jersey and then took the national tricolore jersey few weeks later. Nizzolo was the protected sprinter at the World Championships in Qatar and finished fifth in the sprint behind Peter Sagan.
"I'm happy to have won the Giglio d'Oro because it's a sign of consistency. I'm happy with my 2016 season. Next year I'm aiming for the Classics, I'm not afraid of the pave and I'm motivated to do well."
Other awards went to Vincenzo Nibali for his victory at the Giro d'Italia and to Gianni Moscon of Team Sky, who won the Revelation of the Year award for his impressive debut in the spring Classics and overall victory at the Arctic Race of Norway.
Tro-Bro Léon moves to Easter Monday, secures live television coverage
The 2017 Tro-Bro Léon race will take place Monday April 17, with French organisers opting for Easter Monday to ensure the race has live television coverage on Eurosport according to reports in local French media.
The iconic race covers a series of dirt and cobbled country lanes in the west of Brittany, with the winner traditionally awarded a baby pig on the podium as a prize.
The Tro-Bro Léon was first created in 1984 and has grown in stature in recent years. Martin Mortensen (ONE Pro Cycling) won this year's race ahead of teammate Pete Williams.
Norma Gimondi to run for presidency of Italian cycling federation
Norma Gimondi, daughter of 1965 Tour de France winner Felice Gimondi, has announced that she is a candidate for the presidency of the Italian cycling federation. Gimondi will run against incumbent Renato Di Rocco in the FCI election, which takes place in Rovereto on January 14.
"A lot of people are telling me it will be like climbing Everest but that doesn't worry me," Norma Gimondi said, according to bicitv.it. "My philosophy will be one of listening – that is, listening to the grassroots of the movement, to clubs, and to provincial and regional committees."
Gimondi has been a member of the UCI's disciplinary commission and arbitral board since 2013, and is also part of the FCI’s disciplinary body. A civil lawyer by profession, the 46-year-old served as counsel for Damiano Cunego, Massimiliano Mori and Mirco Lorenzetto during the Mantova investigation into allegations of doping at the Lampre team.
"Personally I didn't give her any advice, because in the end, it was right that she decided herself. If it had been up to me, it would have been more a no than a yes," her father Felice Gimondi told the ANSA news agency. "It's certainly a demanding role. They offered it to me a few times but I always turned it down."
