Viviani not happy to settle for second best

Matt Jones - Editor 16:29 25/02/2017
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  • Viviani is looking to get back to winning ways.

    The Italian has not tasted victory since his gold medal at the Olympic Velodrome in Rio last August, and is aiming to recapture that winning feeling at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Tour.

    The Team Sky rider has finished second four times already in 2017, but his hoping victory will be his at a race where he has enjoyed success before – having won two stages at the inaugural Tour in 2015.

    The 28-year-old has previously admitted his 2016 schedule was all geared towards glory in Rio. With that achieved, he is now returning his full attention to the road for 2017.

    “I said last year my plan was a medal. I arrived where I wanted to, with a gold, I have this now, so now is a good time to try really hard to be good on the road,” Viviani told Sport360.

    “I am 28 now and I think this is my best year to try and do something great on the road. Try to follow my next dreams. Those are Milan San Remo and the Giro d’Italia. The Giro for sure is the biggest goal of the season, and then after that we’ll see what the rest of the year’s plans are.”

    Viviani, who has been with Team Sky since 2015, claimed three runners-up spots at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina in January, and was second again behind Germany’s Marcel Kittel on Stage 5 of this year’s Dubai Tour earlier this month.

    “I know I lost a lot of months last year, but I can only understand now how hard it is to come back on the road,” he added.

    “I tried last year for the Worlds (Road Race World Championships) and I was so close in the sprint finish, having had cramps 1km from the end.

    “I had a really good winter, which was the most important thing. We have done a good job and I’m really focused on what I want to do. When I feel really good on the bike I feel I can win and am confident it will come.

    “I’m in good condition so I want to take the first win of 2017, and I’ve not won on the road since winning on the track at Rio so this puts more pressure on me because I want to win all the time.”

    Viviani finished 20th at October’s Road Race World Championships in Doha, where long-time rival Mark Cavendish claimed silver, behind Slovakia’s Peter Sagan.

    The duel with the Manx Missile was intensified following a crash involving the two and caused by the Brit in the omnium’s points race in Rio, although Viviani picked himself up to win the race and later the gold medal.

    The two have also crossed swords on plenty of previous occasions in the Emirates. Viviani’s two stage wins in Abu Dhabi in 2015 came when Cavendish was ruled out through injury, but the Isle of Man native definitely has the edge when the duo have both been in the field.

    Cavendish won two stages in the capital last year – with Viviani second and third respectively on Stage 1 and 4.

    Viviani was fifth as the Tour’s ambassador also claimed victory on Thursday’s Stage 1.

    Cavendish also has the edge over the Italian at the Dubai Tour. He won Stage 1 and 4 in 2015 while Viviani was third and second. The only time Viviani tasted victory was in 2016’s Stage 2, in which Cavendish was 10th.

    It’s a statistic Viviani is hoping to put right in Abu Dhabi this weekend, with the two expected to be among the favourites for the final stage at Yas Marina Circuit tomorrow (Sunday).

    “It’s definitely the time (I beat Cav) I’ve done well here but also lost a few times in close races to him,” said Viviani.

    “After four second places behind Marcel, Tom Boonen, (Fernando) Gavaria. I think more than Cav I need to beat Quick Step but I think Cav after last year in Abu Dhabi, he put in some really amazing sprints.

    “After the Olympics he came back straight away and won on the road. He was really close to winning at the World Championships and won two stages here so I think all the sprinters are ready to win from the first stage. I hope to be one of the three stage winners in Abu Dhabi.

    “The conditions are good. In the first part of the season I have had a lot of second places but I think Quick Step will be good. I have to be organised in the sprint, to do the perfect sprint. I need to continue the way I am going. The biggest goals are ahead, like Milan-San Remo, but we have three days to test ourselves here among the best sprinters in the world.”

    Viviani won under the lights of Abu Dhabi’s spectacular Formula One track two years ago, and he admits it is a special stage of a Tour and country all riders love racing in.

    “I think here, at this part of the season, sprinters have a lot of chances here, so we must love it. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman, it’s all about the sprinters and here we have one of the best list of participants in the world. For the climbing this is also the same.

    “I really like it in Abu Dhabi because they always try to do something new. I think it’s one of the most spectacular races we do, especially the last day at Yas Marina Circuit. When I won there two years ago with all the lights, it’s great for the show, for the fans, everybody.”

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