INEOS sports director Viviani says the Giro could be settled early: 'It will be the deciding factor'

The spring is almost done and we are preparing for the start of the Giro d'Italia, this coming Saturday. La Corsa Rosa gets underway in Bulgaria, and Elia Viviani cannot wait. The Italian former rider is now a sports director at INEOS Grenadiers — the team that will be targeting success in the Giro.

First, the route. Viviani has already identified one day as crucial. More than that: according to the Italian, the Giro could be settled here. "It will be decided by the 42-kilometre time trial, stage ten from Viareggio to Massa: the differences there could be large, sometimes as much as 2-3 minutes," he tells La Gazzetta dello Sport.

There is still a long way to go after that, but Viviani is clear: "There are many climbs — like Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale — before that time trial, but that test will be the deciding factor." For the sprinters too, the former fast man sees plenty of opportunities. "Start strongly, maybe take the pink jersey on the opening stage, win in Milan or Rome. That doesn't happen often."

Viviani himself, who retired at the turn of the year, would have loved to be racing. "For an Italian, the Giro is the race of the year. Even more than the Tour, because of what it represents. It is home, the streets where you grew up, the fans. I would always have chosen it."

That said, Italian cycling is not exactly living through glorious times. "I am optimistic. I always see the glass as half full, as I have throughout my career — not backwards, because that serves no purpose," Viviani says positively. "The general level of Italian sport is very high, and that is good."

But that is not necessarily about cycling. "I am one of the first to cheer when Sinner wins a Grand Slam or Brignone wins an Olympic gold medal." However: "We have excellent cyclists: Ganna in the time trial and Milan in the sprint are among the best in the world. The key to improvement lies at the grassroots level, in the youth categories."

The former sprinter sees that there is work to be done in the junior and under-23 categories. "They have become extremely fragile in recent years. Nowadays the search is immediately for pure talent, but that brings the risk of missing those who develop later."

For now, the truth is hard for Italy. "We are in a global sport dominated by champions, and that is not easy. The truth is that with Pippo and Jonathan we have held our own very well. But we have competitive riders across different areas. Think of last year: Ciccone finished sixth at the world championships and Scaroni fourth at the Europeans."

And for the future, the country already has something very promising in the pipeline. Pellizzari is getting better and better. "Finn is taking the right steps — he's not rushing anything, and his time will come. I repeat: we just need to be patient and work hard at the grassroots level, so that the champions of the future can develop."