Italian secures number one sprinter status at Quick-Step Floors after Gaviria's exit
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Elia Viviani at the Giro d'Italia presentation(Image credit: Marco Bertorello/Getty Images)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) at the presentation of the 2019 Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) wins the final stage(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images Sport)
Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) celebrates after winning stage 10 at the 2018 Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) wins EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Elia Viviani left the 2019 Giro d’Italia route presentation torn between the desire to ride his home Grand Tour in the Italian national champion’s tricolore jersey and reach his home town of Verona on the final stage, or accept the challenge of being Quick-Step Floors' number one sprinter and so target the sprints at the Tour de France.
Viviani ended his contract with Team Sky a year early to transfer to Quick-Step Floors in 2018. He was hired as an alternative to Fernando Gaviria, but as the season unfolded he outshone his younger rival, winning 18 races, including four stages at the Giro d’Italia and three at the Vuelta a Espana. Viviani ended the season as the most victorious rider of 2018, acting as a cornerstone for Quick-Step Floors' new record of 73 season victories.
Gaviria has recently ended his contract with Quick-Step Floors for a better-paid, three-year contract with UAE Team Emirates, making Viviani the Belgian team’s best sprint option for 2019, with Alvaro Hodeg and Fabio Jakobsen his understudies.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
