Wednesday 14 January 2015 08:57, UK
Elia Viviani is excited to be taking on a fresh challenge with Team Sky and is looking to bag some marquee victories in 2015.
Elia Viviani is excited to be taking on a fresh challenge with Team Sky and is looking to bag some marquee victories in 2015.
The Italian sprinter is settling into his new surroundings and is motivated to build on a professional career that has seen him notch up 30 wins to date.
With Team Sky redoubling its efforts in the sprints this season, Viviani is hoping to be on the end of some strong lead-outs once the racing kicks off.
“After five years in Liquigas and Cannondale, this is a big chance for me,” the Italian told SkySports.com. “This is the moment for me to take a big win and this is the perfect team to do that.
“Team Sky is not normally a sprint team but the mentality this year is changing. If we try for the sprints we can take pressure off the team if we can take some victories and stage wins.”
Viviani, who is a three-time European champion on the track, has his eye on a couple of big targets and is hoping to be part of the team’s plans in both ‘the sprinter’s classic’, and his home Grand Tour.
“The first big race for me is Gent-Wevelgem – that’s the big focus of the first part of the year,” he revealed. “Then after that my priority will be a Giro d’Italia stage win.
“We have some big riders for the sprints. If I think of the perfect train, I think of Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift, Bernie Eisel, Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe. It’s the perfect lead-out.
“Maybe all of these riders will be at Gent-Wevelgem and, if they are, we will have one of the strongest teams.”
Viviani has taken tantalising top-three stage finishes at the Giro on four separate occasions, but until now a Grand Tour stage win has proved elusive.
“I don’t have the power of [Marcel] Kittel or [Andre] Greipel,” he admits. “I am about 500 watts down on them, but I am ready with a good lead-out to make up for it.
“We will work as a team to arrive at 150m in the perfect position and hopefully that will help me beat sprinters like Kittel.”
