This year, Elia Viviani concluded a career studded with numerous successes, both on the road and on the track. The latest – one that stands out – was gold in Elimination at the World Championships in Santiago, Chile last October.
Viviani has passed most of his cycling life alongside the Venetian company DMT, and the brand followed it too during his last retreat, this summer in Livigno, where the sprinter was preparing for the world championship.
Our Customers contacted Mattia Viel, who handles athlete relations and sponsorships for DMT, to tell us about his days at altitude with the Rio 2016 Olympic champion.
Mattia Viel, what did you do with Viviani in Livigno?
We were there with him this summer to produce a video that he told about his relationship with our company, but also something more personal about him. When I heard about his retirement I thought it was really a fundamental person for us and perhaps we could have communicated this moreHence the idea of producing the video, to hear his voice speaking about our relationship.
And how was he in those days?
Super professional as always. He was preparing for the world track championships, but he dedicated a few hours of high-quality work to it. It was a way to pay homage to his extraordinary career.
Always divided between road and track.
Exactly! And for us Elia works well precisely because It is very versatile. In fact the concept of the video is to have a foot in both camps, precisely to underline his passion for the two disciplines and the fact that succeeded until the end to carry them both forward at very high levels. It uses both lace-up and rotor shoes in the same way, so it is a perfect testimonial.
Did any interesting behind-the-scenes information emerge during filming?
I liked the fact that the human side came out, the stories beyond the performance. For example when he exchanges a few words on the phone with Federico Zecchetto, the owner of DMT, and they speak in VenetianThis gives a good idea of the relationship between him and the company. We are a fairly small company compared to others, but precisely for this reason we place a lot of emphasis on following our athletes closely.
Because, let's remember, Viviani is Veronese like the company...
Exactly, and that still played a role. As I was saying. there has always been a special relationship with him, also for the closeness he had with our colleague Nicola Minali, who is his fellow countryman. For example, I think he's the person who received the most customized versions ever.
Minali's voice
And indeed also Nicola Minali, who is responsible for technical development at DMT, has several things to say about the Olympic champion. Ininterview given to bici.PRO this summer he had mentioned to us that, even before the model made for Pogacar, the very first lace-up shoes were made for VivianiWe ask him to explain this story to us better.
«That shoe made for Elia, however – he says – was quite different from the ones in the catalogue now. It was a model, yes with laces, but for the track and with an aerodynamic cover to maximize performance. And it was made of microfiber, unlike the one made for Tadej which is made of knit. It was a model designed for short-duration efforts, exactly the ones you do in the velodrome. On the road it would have heated up too much."
Nicola, you've known Viviani since he was a boy. What was it like working with him all these years?
Me and Elijah we are practically fellow countrymen (both are from Isola della Scala, ed.), and throughout his career, whenever he was free, he always collaborated with us. He was always a corporate man, very clear-headed since he was a child, someone who never spoke nonsense. His obsession, which made him achieve the results he achieved, also helped us a lot.Since I've been working here, we've always relied heavily on feedback from the riders, and given our relationship, Elia has been very important.
Perhaps the peak of his career was the Olympic gold in Rio 2016. What shoes did he have on that day?
A special shoe, with a string that ran all the way around the foot, featuring a rotary closure. The school had two channels that allowed the string to pass through, wrapping the foot in the best possible way. The inspiration for the new lace-up model came from thereThe basic idea is the same. Elia has always been present in all our innovations. The first shoe model made with knit and no longer in microfiber He used it at the Italian championships and immediately wonIt seemed like every new model we proposed to him was something he would try and immediately win. This is also why He was, and will continue to be, a special person for us..
