Elia Viviani – one of Quick-Step Floors’ seven new signings for the 2018 season – will be at the start of the Tour Down Under (16-21 January), which he previously raced in 2011 and 2014, and is looking forward to the six-day event.

“I like the Tour Down Under, it’s one of the best races to start the season – with nice stages, spectacular landscapes and fantastic fans, who always create an electric atmosphere – and I’m motivated to kick off the season on the right foot,” said Viviani.

“It’s a star-studded field at the start and I know it won’t be easy in the sprints, but I have a strong team with a good lead-out and this gives me confidence for my debut in the Quick-Step Floors kit, which I’m eager to show in Australia”, said the 28-year-old Italian.

Fellow countrymen Eros Capecchi and Fabio Sabatini will join the 2016 Olympic Omnium Champion, who’ll also rely on Dries Devenyns, Enric Mas (who last year made his pro debut at the Tour Down Under), and two other newcomers, Michael Mørkøv and Florian Sénéchal, in his first outing for Quick-Step Floors.

The race will kick off from Port Adelaide, just as it did on its first edition twenty years ago, before taking the peloton through more than 80 towns (including Stirling and the 3km-long Willunga Hill, with their spectacular stage finishes, but also Uraidla, a new-entry in the race) and returning to Adelaide for the final stage, which will see the sprinters move again into the spotlight.

Quick Step Floors team for Santos Tour Down Under
Eros Capecchi (ITA)
Dries Devenyns (BEL)
Enric Mas (ESP)
Michael Mørkøv (DEN)
Fabio Sabatini (ITA)
Florian Sénéchal (FRA)
Elia Viviani (ITA)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here