Elia Viviani continued Quick-Step Floors’ dominance of the Dubai Tour, giving the Belgian squad a fourth consecutive victory after those of Mark Cavendish in 2015 and Marcel Kittel in 2016 and 2017.
Viviani has replaced Kittel at Quick-Step Floors for 2018 and is hoping to secure similar success in the sprints. The 29-year-old is clearly benefitting from the speed, skill and expert lead-out of the Quick-Step Floors blue train but has stepped up himself too, working on his own sprinting ability and strike rate as he tries to take advantage of a career-changing opportunity.
The Italian has contested nine sprints with Quick-Step Floors during his intense early-season in Australia and Dubai, winning three and finishing in the top five on four other occasions. His two stage victories at the Dubai Tour and the huge effort he made to finish sixth on the stage up to Hatta Dam ensured he won the overall classification by 12 seconds, ahead of Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana) and Hatta Dam winner Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida).
ADVERTISEMENT
“Winning sprints is my job but with this team it's much easier. We've had a good start. Now we have to confirm in the biggest races, in the Classics and the Grand Tours,” Viviani said.
“The main reason for these early season successes is the team and the planning process. I think we planned the season really well. I’ve been away from home since January 3 but I know I have to make sacrifices. Now I can enjoy a week at home and savour this success before thinking about bigger objectives such as Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo.”
Viviani started the final stage with a lead of just two seconds on Cort. Together with Quick-Step Floors directeur sportif Brian Holm, he had considered all the possible outcomes and they were confident it would work out in their favour.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/viviani-stays-humble-and-hungry-despite-dubai-tour-success
No comments:
Post a Comment