There is no trace of Italians in the uptown classification of the Vuelta – which ended yesterday in Madrid with the triumph of Simon Yates – but on the Spanish roads it was confirmed that the blue pedal has the strongest sprinter this year In circulation. After absolute domination in the Giro, Elia Viviani achieved a fantastic trio with the prestigious success at the final finish line in Madrid, defeating once again the world champion Peter Sagan, who comes out of the Vuelta with many placings but no victories. Power and acrobatics: this is how the Italian sprinter of the Quick-Step Floor emerged in the dense traffic dominating the Madrid sprint.
Given the state of grace she is in, Viviani would have been one of the great favorites of the imminent world event, if it weren't for the fact that this year's event, which will be held at the end of the month in Innsbruck, after so many flat tracks, is a sort of alpine stage, with double-digit slopes for a total difference in height to climb of over 4600 meters. A grueling test for climbers capable of holding up for 258 km, so much will be along the Austrian route, from which the two winners of the Giro and the Tour, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, have already been excluded, a route that leaves little chance even for Sagan to a sensational poker.
Italian hopes are linked to the conditions of Vincenzo Nibali who came out of the Vuelta recovering after the painful fall on Alpe d'Huez, but still with the clear sensation of not being able to be up to being a protagonist on such a demanding circuit. Physically worse than the Shark came out of the Vuelta Fabio Aru, who returns home without ever making an acute and moreover with the wounds still open from the fall in the third to last stage. For the blue coach, Davide Cassani, a much more complicated eve and selection than expected is looming.
