Viviani wins battleground stage in points classification race at Giro d'Italia
23 May 2018 07:00
From the outset, Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) knew that this was going to be a bellwether day in the race for the maglia ciclamino on the Giro d'Italia. Sam Bennett's brace of stage victories and superior climbing ability had moved him a little too close for comfort in the points classification during the Giro's second week. Viviani was all too aware that the early climb out of Riva del Garda to Lago di Ampola on stage 16 had the potential to swing this particular battleground stage in Bennett's favour. "This morning I was quite nervous because I saw this stage as the only one where Sam Bennett could compete for the maglia ciclamino," Viviani said after landing victory ahead of the Irishman in the bunch sprint in a drenched Iseo. "It was coming after a rest day and a time trial, and it started with a climb, so it could have been a dangerous situation, and we rode quite defensively. I was dropped on the first climb, but the team chased and help me get back up on the descent." After surviving that initial scare, Viviani's manifesto for the remainder of the stage was straightforward: stay as close to Bennett as possible. Even a second-place finish behind the Bennett would have left Viviani with an imposing advantage in the points classification, and he was determined to take no risks after conceding so much ground in Gualdo Tadino and Imola last week.ADVERTISEMENT When the heavens opened on the finishing circuit on the shores of Lago di Iseo, however, Viviani opted for a change of tack and latched onto his Quick-Step train ahead of the final kilometre. It proved a sage decision. While Zdenek Stybar and Fabio Sabatini served as Viviani's twin locomotives in the finale, Bennett found himself boxed in. Although the Irishman somehow managed to untangle himself and then deliver a thundering sprint, he ran out of road and had to settle for a disappointed second behind Viviani. "For the sprint, I tried to put a bit of pressure on Bennett by following his wheel, but with the rain, we changed tactics a bit and I followed my train," said Viviani. "Stybar and Saba, they did great work and made the difference in my sprint. Saba had a bike problem and a puncture in the last couple of sprints and he was feeling a bit of pressure because he wanted to contribute, and I think today he was the one who made the difference in the sprint." Montichiari Viviani's triumph in Iseo was his fourth in this Giro – the most by an Italian rider in a single edition since Alessandro Petacchi notched up four wins in 2005 – and has all but sealed victory in the points classification, where he holds a lead of 58 points over Bennett with only one likely bunch sprint to come, in Rome on the final day.
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