Viviani wins opening Tour Down Under stage in brutal heat

Italy’s Elia Viviani won a tight finish to take the opening stage of Australia’s Tour Down Under in brutal temperatures in Adelaide yesterday. Deceuninck–Quick-Step’s Viviani, the omnium gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and one of the world’s leading sprinters, powered out of the pack to reel in Germany’s Max Walscheid and claim the ochre jersey after the first of six stages.

Walscheid of Team Sunweb finished second across the line ahead of another Italian in the CCC Team, Jakub Mareczko. It was a reversal of fortunes for Viviani, 29, who crashed on the final lap of Sunday’s Down Under Classic criterium leading into the tour. “When you start the World Tour season with the stage win and the leader’s jersey here in Tour Down Under, it’s the best way,” said Viviani.

“Now we know we’ve done a good job during the winter -- that’s the question we’ve already answered.” Viviani comes into the Tour Down Under on the back of a successful 2018 season. The Italian won 18 races, including stage 3 at Tour Down Under, overall classification at Dubai Tour, four stages at Giro d’Italia, Hamburg Cyclassics race and three stages at Vuelta a Espana. The riders braved temperatures hovering above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the opening 129-kilometre (80- mile) stage from North Adelaide to Port Adelaide.