Santiago de Chile has become a province of Italy. First with the gold of the female quartet and then with the exultation of those same girls at the balustrade to celebrate the third gold in the elimination of Elia Viviani at the'last run. The crossed arms to signify that the die is cast while he was spinning on the track gave the exact dimension of a victory that recalls Cancellara's in the Rio 2016 time trial. Elia Viviani wanted to finish with a medal on the track and will take home another rainbow jersey, the most beautiful way to say enough and leave without regretting not having tried one last time.
«Last year – he says – when I was still looking for a team in February, this was what I meant. I wanted to prove that I was still at the level to win on the road and I did it..Being in a Grand Tour and behaving well, as I did at the Vuelta. Ending my career with a World Cup, wearing a rainbow jersey, is something fantastic.I'm retiring from the top, which is what I wanted and what I hoped for. So yes, we can really say that this is the perfect ending."
Nervous before the start
He ran like a champion, admitting to having experienced an unusual nervousness before the start. Then in the race everything worked as it should and the final sprint was a no-brainer, to the point of being able to get up well before the line, indicating the closeness to victory. With Elia, the entire Italian crowd erupted in joy. Indeed, the desire to celebrate among his teammates, wearing jerseys titled "The Prophet's Last Dance," seemed even greater. God only knows how many emotions Viviani had inside him during those world champion laps.
«I keep repeating that my greatest pride – he says – is precisely having created this movement together with Marco Villa and all those who worked To bring all these medals and champions to track cycling. I feel like telling him to believe in his dreams, to aim high because with hard work you can get there, just like I did. Believe in it and dream big because that's the only way to achieve great results. We've seen that after me, many medals have come from the girls. The Olympic gold medal from Madison, the quartet that has been the apotheosis of recent years. And other boys continue to arrive.
«Salvoldi has taken good care of the youth movement, the girls from Villa and Bragato are young and they still bring many results. We have a great future ahead of us and above all now we have a structure, we have a Federation that believes in it and works for this. There is certainly always work to be done in the youth categories and we will try to do it."
In that plural there is perhaps a taste of his future, which he had not ruled out in the meeting with the media before leaving for ChileFor now his horizon is the dinner with the whole national team and then the well-deserved holidays with Elena Cecchini sprints to Chile to support him in his final battle.. From this evening she will be the only home rider, but it is sweet for Elia Viviani to retire carrying in his heart the last gold and the feeling of having left as a winner.
Salvoldi's sums
The final count of Dino Salvoldi left for Chile without any great illusions., it's much rosier now that the World Cup is over.
«The balance of these World Cups – reasons Dino Salvoldi, city of men – ends in the best possible way. With an emotional victory by Elia, a very classy victoryAnd as a final race, in Madison with two 2005-born boys in a group of monsters of the specialty, we had the goal of finishing it and improving our technique. We succeeded, even if we saw how and where we need to work, where there is room for improvement. But I'm satisfied, well done to Stella and Sierra too.
«As for the previous days, the discussion would be too long. In short, I can say that we return with some regret to the team and individual pursuitsWe came very, very close to the bronze medal, even though we knew beforehand that the gap was smaller than we thought, so we can be optimistic. We ran with very young athletes like Grimod and Sierra. We must have the courage to deploy them and prepare them with the right humility and serenity.But if we don't create the opportunity for them for the first time and postpone it over time, we'll find ourselves with mature athletes without international experience and therefore the gap will remain.
