Vincenzo Nibali upsets fans with controversial national champion's jersey

Italian Vincenzo Nibali has risked upsetting his home fans with a controversial national champion's jersey for the Tour de France.

The Italian national champion's jersey traditionally features the Italian flag, but this year's version is dominated by the turquoise colour of his Astana team.

"An all tricolore jersey would be better and offer more visibility for the title that I won," Nibali told reporters.

"Many of the other teams, though, are doing the same thing. Look at Peter Sagan in his Slovakian jersey. It looks almost like a normal jersey.

"In cycling today that's how it is. With many important sponsors that are putting in a lot of money, they want their names to be visible."

Nibali, 29, is among the favourites for the Tour de France, which begins today.