"I'm an experienced guy in a really young team" - Elia Viviani shows Lotto teammates the way with 90th pro win at 2025 Tour of Turkey
CyclingSaturday, 03 May 2025 at 14:08
There aren't many more experienced riders in the entirety of the peloton Elia Viviani. For a while though, it looked as if the Italian's professional road career might be over as he struggled to find a contract after leaving the INEOS Grenadiers at the end of 2024. Lotto eventually came calling however, and now Viviani has rewarded his team with a stage win at the 2025 Tour of Turkey.
"I always think I can still have it. Finally, now everyone knows," a beaming Viviani reflected in his post-stage interview afterwards, having out-sprinted fellow elder statesman of the peloton Alexander Kristoff in a tight finale to stage 7 in Turkey on Saturday afternoon. "Stephane Heulot (Lotto's team boss ed.) gave me this chance and this is how I want to pay him back."
Taking on a mentorship role within Lotto, Viviani is hopeful he can help the next generation of the Belgian team succeed at the top level. "I'm an experienced guy in a really young team, and the first thing is that I want them to learn from me, from Jasper De Buyst, from these kind of guys," explains the nine-time Grand Tour stage winner in conclusion. "They can learn resilience, to continue believing in this modern cycling where everyone knows it's difficult to take a win, so I'm really happy."
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ELIA VIVIANI IS BACK 💥
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) May 3, 2025
A huge sprint from the Italian sees him take his first win at Lotto 💪 pic.twitter.com/gAaOGMSSe9
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