A scene for the ages: Vincenzo Nibali rides alone through the snow to an epic win at the iconic Tre Cime di Lavaredo

The defining image of the 2013 Giro d'Italia and one that'll go into cycling history. Photograph: Sirotti

Yesterday I previewed this stage by talking about the day in 1968 when a young Eddy Merckx made the Tre Cime di Lavaredo climb iconic by attacking alone in the snow and riding to glory in what was his first Grand Tour victory. I titled that article, 'Memories of Merckx'. Fast forward 45 years and we had a real flashback as to what that day must have looked like, just in the place of Merckx in his World Champions jersey was Italian Vincenzo Nibali in the Pink jersey ramming home his dominance over this race by doing just what Merckx did and soloing to victory in the most atrocious of conditions for a win that will go down in Giro legend. It could well be titled, 'Shades of Merckx'.

Unlike Merckx in 1968, Nibali had no need to go on the attack to try and seize the race. He was already four minutes in charge before the day began and could simply have marked his rivals up the climb for glory. But true glory doesn't come about by doing that ... sure he would be the winner and he'd have the stage win from the day before and he'd still be a great champion, and many others would have gone conservative, but Nibali knew that to become a true legend he would have to destroy his rivals and win upon that famous mountain. Being the first to the top in the Pink jersey would truly mark his authority and doing it in these conditions would make him a hero in his home country.

He attacked with 2.5 kiloemtres to go on gradients that pushed 18% at times and rarely fell below 10%. His attack was more a turning of the screw than an out and out acceleration, but when he moved, nobody could follow. With the snow falling and the conditions getting worse and worse near the top he continued to build an advantage. The rest behind were in another race. Surrounded by wild, passionate and at times over excited Italian fans -- some clearly drunk and topless in the sub-zero temperatures running alongside and leaving me watching in fear that one was about to fall under the wheel of Nibali -- the 29 year old pressed on.

Memories of Merckx at Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Despite the route being changed tomorrow and a number of the climbs being taken out, it's still set to be an epic stage in the Giro d'Italia thanks to the races finish at the iconic Tre Cime di Lavaredo. It's a climb made famous by a young Eddy Merckx who won up there in 1968 en route to crushing a field of established veterans by 5 minutes overall.

An extract from the book, "The Story of the Giro d'Italia", Volume 1 tells the story of that day on stage 12 when Merckx -- at just 22 years of age but already the reigning World Champion and winner of the Paris-Roubaix, not to mention past winner of the Milan - San Remo (twice), Gent–Wevelgem and Flèche Wallonne -- announced himself to the world as a Grand Tour rider and one capiable of winning every kind of race in what would become the greatest cycling career we've ever seen. As you'll see, the conditions then sound very much like the kind of conditions we can expect tomorrow...