20 Aug 2017
Viviani praises teammates for Cyclassics win
Related riders
Elia Viviani
Elia Viviani dedicated his win at Cyclassics Hamburg to his teammates after sprinting to victory ahead of Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo).
Following fantastic work by Owain Doull and Danny van Poppel in the closing kilometres to position Viviani close to the front of the peloton, the Italian rider was able to launch a long sprint which left his rivals unable to react.
And Viviani was grateful for the support throughout the stage, which took place in torrid conditions, as he recovered from a puncture with 50km to go to finish off a great team move.
He told TeamSky.com: “When I had a puncture I had three guys around me to bring me back to the group and Owain and Danny did an amazing job in the last 5km.
“This morning we studied what had gone wrong for us in this race and we were able to improve with this win.
“We decided that the left corner with 2.7km to go was crucial and we went through it with me and Danny in second and third which was ideal.
"I am proud of this win, but this win is for the team."
"I am proud of this win, but this win is for the team."
Elia VIviani
To come second by two centimetres was not what I was hoping for, but I was able to spend a good week training and come here in great shape.”
The victory comes two weeks after Viviani agonisingly missed out on the European Road Race title in a photo finish, but the 28 year old used this setback as motivation to succeed in Hamburg.
“To come second by two centimetres was not what I was hoping for, but I was able to spend a good week training and come here in great shape, he continued.
"When I saw the track guys begin their sprint with 200m to go I thought that I didn’t want to lose like I did in the European Championships because I waited.
“I started my sprint earlier and led from the front and went full power to the line.
“I was happy that the long sprint came after 200km of racing too as it shows that all the work we did earlier in the season to get me ready for Classics really paid off.”
