Elia Viviani picked up his 71st victory at the UAE Tour, but the red-hot Italian is targeting 100 before he applies the brakes on his career.
The 30-year-old caught fire in 2018, his debut with Quick-Step Floors (now Deceuninck-Quick-Step), surging to 18 calendar wins after leaving the shadows of Team Sky to become a leading light at the Belgian outfit.
Verona native Viviani doubled his previous best tally last year, surpassing his nine wins from 2017, but now says the goal is topping 100 – although he joked that a precious triumph at Milan-San Remo at the end of the month could see him bring the curtain down prematurely on his 2019 campaign.
“I think it’s 71. Some say 70, some say 71. 71 is official I think,” Viviani told Sport360 after claiming fifth place on Stage 7 of the inaugural UAE Tour at Dubai’s City Walk on Saturday – a result that saw him take home the green points jersey.
Officially, it’s 71 wins, but some records don’t count his maiden triumph as a professional – a Stage 8 victory at the Vuelta A Cuba in February 2010.
UAE tour ✅ un’altra bella settimana di lavoro, ora che la stagione Europea abbia inizio🇮🇹💪🏻🤩
— ELIA VIVIANI (@eliaviviani) 3 March 2019
📸 @pocispix pic.twitter.com/FocyXmpFr4
But Viviani only cares about where the next victory is coming from. He added: “I don’t count this. The goal is probably 100 but at the moment we focus to win as much as we can and then we will see.”
Viviani had earlier triumphed on Stage 5 at Khor Fakkan on Thursday and was second behind UAE Team Emirates rider Fernando Gaviria – a Quick-Step colleague last year – on Stage 2.
Emulating his stunning 2018 may seem a tall task, but Viviani has started 2019 in resplendent fashion – adding his UAE victory to his Stage 1 win at the Tour Down Under and Great Ocean Road Race glory.
And he feels there could be even more to come from him this year. “We have already three WorldTour wins so I think it doesn’t count how many wins I do, the important thing is to win important races,” added Viviani, who now heads to Tirreno-Adriatico from March 13-19 before attempting to win a coveted maiden Milan-San Remo title.
“I think if I win San-Remo I could end the season there,” said Viviani, who has finished ninth and 19th in the previous two races.
He was disappointed not to leave the Emirates with a second win, but comforted himself with the green jersey. And it was another fine showing from Viviani in the UAE, where he has always performed well.
He won Stage 2 of the 2015 Dubai Tour and would follow that up with two wins at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour later that year. Another Stage 2 win in Dubai followed in 2017 and 2018, as well as a second stage win and the overall title in Dubai last year.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely,” added Viviani when asked if he likes racing here.
“I like to race here, to start the season really well in Australia and then come here already in good condition. I always like to win, never mind where but I think this week we went really close.
“One time with Fernando the first day and then the second stage, then we win the other sprint. Then today another sprint and fifth place so we are always there.
Your #UAETour green jersey winner, @eliaviviani: https://t.co/OcGGNaaFnZ
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) 3 March 2019
Photo: @GettySport pic.twitter.com/iLfgMabGXK
“I think we just keep going like that with the guys, doing an amazing job. We need to accept it’s always a good battle with the best sprinters in the world. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We need to never lose the confidence.”
Of failing to grasp a second win of the week, he added: “Disappointment, because when we can win it’s always good to take that.
“But we were too far back on the final corner. When I see (UAE Team Emirates’ Alexander) Kristoff start the sprint, I understand we are already late and I said to Michael (Morkov) straight away ‘go, go, go’ on the left side, but when I see Gaviria head to head with (Bora-Hansgroe rider and stage winner Sam) Bennett I have the feeling I need to sprint just for the placement.
“So, disappointed for that, happy for the points jersey. It was a really nice week, next week we start to focus for Tirreno, the last step before the classics which is the biggest goal of the season. We are at a good point.”
