Nine-time Grand Tour stage winner reportedly set for retirement at the end of 2024
Cycling
Once one of the most feared sprinters in the entire peloton, Elia Viviani has found race victories much harder to come by in recent years. With his contract for the INEOS Grenadiers up at the end of the year and little interest from other teams, the Italian is reportedly now considering retirement.
A nine-time Grand Tour stage winner in his pomp, Viviani has added just four victories to his palmares over the last three years at the INEOS Grenadiers, the last of which came more than twelve months ago on the opening stage of the 2023 Tour of Guangxi in China. According to a report by Cycling Pro Net, the 35-year-old, may now have to end his professional career with 89 race wins.
Viviani has shown signs of his old form at times across the 2024 season, although mostly while competing on the track. The Italian, who has long combined both road and track goals, took home a silver medal in the Madison at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games alongside Simone Consonni and more recently, finished 2nd at the Track World Championships in the Elimination Race.
According to the report by Cycling Pro Net, Viviani's future may also lay on the track side of things with him talks over a potential role within the Italian Cycling Federation, helping his countrymen prepare ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
"The impression we had so far was that the 35-year-old from Isola della Scala would have gladly done at least another year on the road, perhaps focusing mostly on it to try to carve out his satisfactions and increase the already splendid loot of 89 career victories, starting perhaps with a new seal at the Giro d'Italia," it is stated. "However, this new offer could change the cards on the table."
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