Nibali reflects after sad passing of Lieuwe Westra: "He was crucial in my Tour de France victory"

After Lieuwe Westra's sad passing at the age of just 40, his former team leader Vincenzo Nibali has paid a glowing tribute to the man he describes as "crucial in my Tour de France victory."

Speaking in a column he wrote for La Gazzetta dello Sport Nibali says "Lieuwe was a great guy, he lived for the bike. Lieuwe didn't talk very much, but he knew exactly what to do in the peloton. I can remember how happy he was when he was told in the team meeting that it was his job to go on the attack."

The undisputed highlight of Nibali and Westra's time together at the Astana Qazaqstan Team was the Shark of Messina's Tour de France victory in 2014. According to Nibali himself, his famous Yellow Jersey win may have never happened if Westra hadn't been by his side.

“It wasn't a big problem that we didn't speak the same language. We understood each other,” he says. “In the famous cobbled stage, in which I took a lot of time on my competitors, his help was vital. First, he was in the breakaway and then he rode in the lead. He was crucial. It was a pleasure to have him in the team. I haven't heard much from him in recent years, but his death has filled my heart with sadness. A lot of sadness.”