Born in Leitza, Nieve won the sixteenth stage of the 2010 Vuelta a España, shaking off four riders to win solo in the mountain finish at the Alto de Cotobello.

[9] Nieve had broken away early, and crested the penultimate climb of the day, the Passo Fedaia, with only Stefano Garzelli in front of him.

On the lower slope of the final climb to Gardeccia-Val di Fassa, Nieve passed Garzelli, and held on to win the stage after having spent a little less than 7 hours and a half in the saddle.

[12] Nieve also rode the Tour de France, where he helped Chris Froome take overall victory as one of his mountain domestiques.

In December 2021, Nieve announced that he was joining the Caja Rural–Seguros RGA team for the 2022 season, after thirteen years at UCI World Tour level.