Vivani is back and wants to win

ITALIAN cycling champion Elia Viviani will set out to continue his winning form at this Sunday’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (CEGORR).

Fresh from winning stage one of the Tour Down Under last week, Viviani has been named as a key inclusion for the Elite Men’s field.

Competing for UCI WorldTeam Deceuninck- Quick Step, Viviani will team up with Rémi Cavagna, Dries Devennyns, Mikkel Honore, James Knox, Michael Morkov and Fabio Sabatini.

The 29-year-old was arguably the World Tour’s best sprinter in 2018 with 19 wins and appears to be in ominous form again in 2019 as he aims to go one better than his second place in the 2018 CEGORR.

He comes to Geelong with the motivation to improve on his second place in 2018.

“I really want to win Cadel Evans (Great Ocean Road Race)… it’s the first classic of the season,” he said.

“I love the course and the race… If I think towards a classic I can win, Cadel Evans (Great Ocearn Road Race) is definitely one of my goals.”

CEGORR race director Scott Sunderland, said he was looking forward to watching one of the best.

“Viviani is one of the top three sprinters in the world, with victory on Sunday firmly in his sight,” he said.

“It’s going to be great to see him tackle the Great Ocean Road and fight fierce competition.”

See pages 51-54 for more on the event.