When we intercept it, Elia Viviani He just got off yet another plane. He's commuting between home and Belgium, where he'll be competing in several one-day races. such as Memorial Schotte a few days ago and how it will be today for the Campaign of Vlaanderen.
The rider of Lot He's having a good time, even though his future isn't so clear. What doesn't seem to be affected at all, and this is evident throughout the interview, It's his mind. Viviani, born in 1989, is still a steamroller, a 101 percent rider. After this block of races in Belgium, he will have two weeks in which he plans to hit the track in Montichiari, before the season finale in Veneto.
Elia, let's start at the end, from Spain to Belgium, to the Memorial Schotte, which you won. How did you get there? Was it a kind of revenge?
Certainly. I suffered a lot. Return, which was a tough race. I know I always come out of Grand Tours strong because the amount of work put in gives me so much. Tuesday's race was very close, but with Sunday being a no-race day and Monday being a rest day, I already had a good feeling.
So the goal now is?
Run and win as much as possible between now and the end of the season. With the Vuelta in my legs, knowing that a Grand Tour always gives me so much. I'm happy to be back in one, despite the suffering and the few opportunities, but a Grand Tour is always beautiful. I hadn't competed in one since 2021.
Not a little, in fact…
In fact, I was a little apprehensive at first. I knew I had prepared well, but in the end it wasn't easy. I'm happy. There were few opportunities: an initial fourth place, then the second (in the Zaragoza stage, Elia was relegated for a detour, editor's note). It's a shame we didn't sprint in Madrid.I had good memories there: in 2018 I achieved one of my greatest victories, the last stage in a city like Madrid was fantastic. That's why not sprinting was disappointing.
What was it like holding on in the mountains… thinking about Madrid?
Knowing that there was an opportunity in Madrid helped a lot. Of course, the stage was eliminated. It was already known from Novara that the opportunities would be few, but The first and last stages were delicious. The Red Jersey in Turin, Italy, and the last one in Madrid: I know what it means to win it, it's something great. For us sprinters, not being able to compete in the final stage was a great loss.
Why?
You suffer for twenty days knowing you have that last chance. Arriving in Madrid and not sprinting wasn't nice. But not just for us sprinters: I also think about pidcock, on his first podium, or to the young riders in the team at the first Grand TourYou wake up in the morning with the satisfaction of having finished and instead you find yourself wondering if your family members are safe upon arrival or if they are finished in the chaos of the protestersIt was bad, the mood was down. Once I got back to the hotel, I immediately looked for a flight and returned home that same evening.Mood under the heels.
My mood is low: but you did a good job switching right away. A champion's reaction...
That is the reaction you must have when you know you have made many sacrifices, of having suffered so much, and you say: «Give me some races, give me a sprint!».
Tell us about your victory at the Memorial Schotte. What kind of race was it?
It was a circuit race, 145-150 kilometers. Not very long, but the national races here in Belgium, called Kermess Course, are always very intense. There were five of us, some even just two. There were some important riders, some returning from the Vuelta like me. The first selection was about thirty of us, then on the circuit, amidst the wind and the curves, the rest took place. In the end Three of us arrived: me, Jonas Rickaert and Dries De Bondt. There was an attack from De Bondt, who was in a state of desperation that day, and we ended up with a shortened sprint.
A reduced sprint?
Yes, first it was me and De Bondt, then Rickaert came back and I beat him in the sprint. It reminded me a bit of the European Championship race I won: selection by the wind and the curves, until only a few remain. I'm still doing well on the plains!
It's nice to hear you speak with such enthusiasm. What can I say: these old guys are still going strong. Experience is fine, but you also need legs, right?
Yes, you need legs and energy. It was also nice to see Alaphilippe Winning in Canada is a good sign. I also received many compliments from the riders who, like me, came from the Vuelta and said to me: "We don't know how you did it." In fact, just two days after the Vuelta, the fatigue is still felt. But I've always thought that after a Grand Tour, if you recover well, you can do good things.
This is head, Elijah…
At the end of a Grand Tour you can just throw yourself on the sofa for two weeks, but you lose everything. If you're hungry, however, you wait a few days and then you want to run... And win.
What's it like to run for this Lotto team? At first, when the news about Viviani joining Lotto came out, it didn't seem like your team. Instead?
Well, actually. It's a well-organized team with a lot of young people. Even at the Vuelta, we never lacked anything, a full staff: masseurs, physiotherapists, nutritionist, chef, mattresses brought every morning, ice baths after the finish. We lacked nothing. I congratulated the team. It's a WorldTour in all respects and I've been in big teams like Quick Step or Ineos Grenadiers, super organized teams. And then the trust they gave me: it had been a few years since I found anyone who believed in me.
What do you mean?
I found men capable of doing that job. From Jasper De Buyst, a guarantee, to Milan Fretin, a motivated young man, to Segaert, who led the group for kilometers. People who make you proud and enable you to achieve results.
We imagine it's nice to see that, despite arriving late at the start of the season, they've given you the keys to the team...
True! Lotto is a great team. They believe in I have to team up And they have a lot of young talent. Widar, Van Eetvelt, Segaert… in a few years it will be an even more competitive group.
Given how things are going, can you tell us something about the future?
As I've always said, I came here to stay. Now there is this situation of the merger (with Intermarché-Wanty, ed.) and I'm waiting for news on the new deals between the two teams.
From the way you talk, you're still hungry. Is that right?
100 percent. Otherwise, I would have already stopped. We're waiting for news, but in the meantime, I want to add victories and races. Then there is the track world championship, where I aim for elimination and the points race. I spoke with Dino Salvoldi And we'll see based on my condition after Montichiari. But I'd like to do the specialties I don't do at the Olympics or that I haven't been able to do in recent years because I had to prepare for the omnium.
You were talking about Ineos earlier: Geraint Thomas has retired. What memories do you have of him and the team?
Geraint Thomas is a great friend as well as a legend. I looked at him with admiration already in the velodromes, when I rode the tracks around the world alone together with Marco VillaTraining together, living together in Monaco, being part of a team: It was special to see him grow and winI have the utmost respect for him, especially for how he approached the final years of his career, and the Giro d'Italia in particular: he came very close, he wore the pink jersey...
But now this squadron is in transition…
They need to rebuild their identity. The Grand Tours need those three or four special riders, and they don't have them now. They probably need to focus more on the stages than the overall. But with athletes like GannaTarling, Turner and a rediscovered Bernal, at least for the stages but not I don't think for the general classification, can win a lot. And then the return of Brailsford and perhaps the entry of Thomas into the staff could be the right key.
Why?
Because Geraint is always in that team. He knows every little thing, the staff and he is new to the group, which is very important in this cycling.He knows how to prepare and be ready for appointments.
Back to you, Elia. Are there any races in Belgium or Veneto you'd like to win?
In Belgium, they're all flat, and I don't have a favorite race. The important thing is that I can sprint. And what can I say: running in Veneto has a special flavor. I would like the Tour of the VenetoRacing at home, with the fans, would be nice. Pippo Pozzato is making things tough for the sprinters, but it's the Giro del Veneto and above all it's a race I'd like to do well in.
