Elia Viviani, author shot in Belgium

Elia Viviani won the 2025 edition of the Briek Schotte Memorial, a race now in its 81st year and won on only one other occasion by an Italian cyclist, Mauro Facci, in 2008. At the finish line in Desselgem, Belgium, the sprinter from Verona who is on Lotto’s team anticipated Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

“In the ’last stage of the race there were continuous attacks – commented Viviani -. Fortunately I was clear-headed enough to follow De Bondt, we stayed in two with five kilometers to go. In the last kilometer Rickaert also joined in, but I was confident for the sprint: he launched the sprint but when I felt it was the right time I took off towards the finish line and overtook him’I overtook him”.

Today’s is the second road victory of the season for Viviani, who had won stage 7 of the Tour of Turkey in the spring. The Veronese rider’s goal is to collect more successes in the’last part of the season: “I am very happy with my condition, even this far ahead in the season. I will continue to give everything I have, I still want to win as much as I can before the year”.

Aclass of 1989, born in Isola della Scala but raised in Vallese di Oppeano, Elia Viviani is one of the veterans of the peloton but has absolutely no intention of taking steps backward. In fact, the Lotto sprinter continues to reap successes both on the road and on the track, where among other things he was Olympic champion in the Omnium in Rio 2016 and two-time world champion in the elimination, in 2021 and 2022.