Alkmaar (Netherlands) (AFP)
To him the star jersey: the Italian Elia Viviani surprised everyone, Sunday in Alkmaar (Netherlands), to afford the title of European champion road cycling after more than 60 km of breakaway.
The Italian sprinter, one of the main organizers of this great show race, easily settled to finish his last companion breakaway, the Belgian Yves Lampaert, who was ahead of another sprinter another German Pascal Ackermann (3rd) , he too long in front.
"This is probably one of the greatest successes of my career because the joy that one can feel is different from that which prevails in case of massive sprint", savored Viviani, who signs at 30 years one of his most spectacular success, the 76th in total.
Main favorite to the succession of his compatriot Matteo Trentin, winner last year in Glasgow and still Sunday 7th, Elia Viviani was not really satisfied to run to the economy: on the windswept Dutch roads, his " squadra azzurra "broke the pack 65 kilometers away.
An acceleration that allowed him to join a group of 13 in the company of three other Italian riders, Trentin, Consonni and Cimolai.
"With my teammates, we tried to make a quick difference when we had five or six laps to go, and then we talked tactically and looked at who had good legs, which was my case, as I often do. after a big Tour ", decrypts the sprinter from Veneto.
After standing up to the chasing pack led by a Dutch side Dylan van Baarle, Viviani, Lampaert and Ackermann took advantage of a slight break to isolate themselves at the front.
And the Italian was the only one able to answer less than 4 km from the arrival to a sharp offensive of Lampaert, his teammate at Deceuninck who knew himself beaten in advance in the sprint but did not want to settle for bronze.
After 172.5 kilometers of effort at the incredible average of 49 kilometers per hour given the sometimes violent winds, Viviani did not even have to force his talent to drop a resigned Lampaert.
Viviani thus completes the harvest of Italian and ... family medals: the day before, her partner, Elena Cecchini, had snatched the silver medal on the women's online race of these same European championships.
Too short in the last few kilometers, Ackermann managed to keep his bronze medal for a few seconds ahead of Norwegian Kristoff who won the sprint of the peloton to snatch 4th place.
French side, Florian Sénéchal managed to narrowly integrate the group of 13 who has long been in the lead while Arnaud Démare, who had a good shot to play the profile of the course, had not managed because of a slip just before joining. Démare, best French, finished in 9th place.
© 2019 AFP