Yves Lampaert, Elia Viviani and Pascal Ackermann on the podium(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Elia Viviani (Italy) wins the European title(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Elia Viviani (Italy) wins the European title(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Elia Viviani and his Deceuninck-QuickStep team have unveiled the Italian's new European champion's jersey, confirming that he will target the EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg in the new colours next Sunday.
Viviani beat his Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate Yves Lampaert – representing Belgium – for the road-race title in a two-up sprint in Alkmaar, with Pascal Ackermann (Germany) taking the bronze medal several seconds further back after the three went on the attack.
Viviani is known for his bunch-sprinting skills but earned the distinctive European champion's jersey with an aggressive ride along with the rest of his Italian national team in the crosswinds on the roads of the Netherlands.
The 30-year-old has already confirmed that he will leave Deceuninck-QuickStep and join Cofidis for 2020, but has enjoyed a successful two years with the Belgian WorldTour team thanks to their strength in depth and experienced lead-out squad.
"When I came to Deceuninck-Quick-Step two years ago, I had a number goals, and I'm grateful to the team for helping me achieve them," Viviani said when proudly unveiling his European champion colours.
"I took stage wins in all three Grand Tours, I won the national championships last season, and now the European championships: two beautiful jerseys that I'm very happy will always be on my palmarès. Wearing this jersey makes me even more motivated for my last goals of the year," he said.
Viviani confirmed that he opted to target the European championships after revealing that the upcoming world championships in Yorkshire in September would be too tough for him.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The only two road races left on Viviani's 2019 schedule are the EuroEyes Cyclassics in Hamburg and the Bretagne Classic in Plouay a week later. He is then scheduled to ride the European Track Championships in Apeldoorn in October and the Track World Cup in Minsk a month later as he turns his attention to defending the Olympic omnium title that he won at the 2016 Games in Rio.
"When I rode the parcours of the Yorkshire Worlds and saw how hard it was, I shifted my attention to the European championships and made that race one of my primary goals of the season," he explained.
"I recovered after the Tour de France, and had good condition, and came to the start with plenty of confidence after my victory in London," said Viviani, who won the one-day RideLondon-Surrey Classic a week before his European championships victory.
"The race was atypical, as many were betting on a mass sprint, but it split up early on and things were completely different from that moment on. Being there in the finale with a 'Wolfpack' teammate showed our strength and made the victory even more memorable," Viviani said, recollecting last Sunday's race.
