VERSAILLES (France) – He definitely has a good relationship with the Olympics. He won gold at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020, with the honor of being the flag bearer in the omnium. Elia Viviani is ready to play his cards in Paris too. His first commitment but it's on the road this morning, together with Alberto Bettiol and Luca MozzatoWith the emotion of someone who knows well what the Games are.
“It’s those 15 days when you watch all the sports,” he said last night. “You feel part of a much bigger team. I wanted to be there at the opening ceremony after being flag bearer in TokyoAnd looking back at my last years, the last important result was precisely the Olympics. And so my biggest goal became Paris."
We begin with the road and a proven path.
We did a controlled reconnaissance. On the climb of the final circuit we were 2 minutes and 10 secondsEvenepoel did it in 1 minute and 58 seconds… We'll see. It's a course full of curves, with no curves or relaunches like Glasgow last year. The difference will be made by the breaks, but in my opinion only at the endIt will be difficult to pinpoint a point where you can attack to win. It could happen at any moment.
Evenepoel, Pedersen, van Aert, Van der Poel: can't we get out of it?
Cycling today is dominated by these champions. They are those champions that you never know when they can attack.They can do it at any time. I think there will be a face-to-face between them in the finale. Our role is to have a man who can stay with them, which is BettiolLuca and I are two fast athletes, we'll have to support the first part and then be ready. And if we lose ground, don't give up. Experience teaches us that Many attacks can also come back and so we need to be ready.
How do you see the other national teams?
Denmark and the Netherlands have men who can make this race a little more normalPedersen is in great form. But I'm also thinking of Morkov and Bjerg or van Baarle. Then we'll have to see what others with immense resources do. Belgium, for example, brought four medal-winning athletes, because Tiesj Benoot and Jasper Stuyven are too. Great Britain has Tarling, who can always join a breakaway. Watch out for France, who are playing at home. I know Alaphilippe well, he will be emotionally involved one hundred percent and he will certainly try..
It's Italy?
Bettiol has shown that he can compete. I don't see any places where they can detach it.He's a key medal-winning asset for us. We're fast athletes who can't lose control of the race, and then we'll see. The route is up and down, it is not hard, but it will become so as the kilometers pass by. Like a Sanremo, like a Ghent-Wevelgem. But at the same time it will be different, because the group will be smaller. I'll enjoy it, it will be the biggest effort I'll make in these Games, because those on the track will be short but intense.
What is the strategy?
We need to be ready right away. Initially it will be my and Mozzato's job not to let good riders escapeWe couldn't chase them. We're outnumbered by the others, we can't let ourselves get caught out, and once the race has taken off, we'll see. Some attacks can also be paid. The race ends in Paris. And with a spectacular finish, as I saw yesterday in the race walk.
And, even if it's early, the track?
I worked a lot on the track, for the omnium. A little bit with the quartet too, hoping the boys don't need it, but in the meantime I've been helping out. Recently, I've done three days of track work, rest, and then road work on the weekends. What needed to be done has been done. The road and track will now tell if I did well.
It's a track that brings you luck. You won the world championship gold medal here in 2022 in the elimination event.
It will be a fast track, as it always is at the Olympics. The athletes arrive at the top, the organizers try to make it as fast as possible. The weather will have an impact, as always. This certainly applies to the pursuit; the wood has been sanded, and we'll see how smooth it is. Of course, in the omnium, everything is relative. Here I won a World Cup, here the boys lost a World Cup to Great Britain, who will compete for the medal with Italy, Denmark and Australia.
And your omnium?
Tactics will be the most important thing. You have to be physically fit, but not make a single mistake. There are reference riders like Benjamin Thomas, but also potential surprises like Van Schip. You have to be careful with everyone. If an outsider makes the right choices, you risk not signing him again.
