 In order to become a cyclist, he left his hometown Messina and moved to Tuscany at the age of sixteen.For ten months of the year, he lived in the house of his ex-directeur sportif, Carlo Franceschi, in Mastromarco, near Lamporecchio.Nibali finished third at the UCI World Junior Time Trial Championships in 2002 and also third at the UCI World Under-23 Time Trial Championships in 2004.