Ranking: The Best Italian Riders #4

In terms of outright wins, Elia Viviani could be considered the best Italian of the current crop. However, FloBikes' ranking formula accounts for many more factors than just wins. 

Elia Viviani is one of the most slippery sprinters in the peloton. He is a master at positioning, and uses much less physical means of navigating through the bunch in the final kilometer than other sprinters such as the bullish Sam Bennett. 

Viviani's relegation in stage 3 of the 2019 Giro d'Italia, which saw him take Matteo Moschetti off his line was an outlier in the sprinter's career. That said, 2019 was a year of ups and downs for Viviani. His one victory in the Giro d'Italia was stripped away from him, and he eventually abandoned the race. 

Viviani rebounded with a stage win at the Tour de France and went on to win the European championships. Viviani now finds himself on Team Cofidis, a program with drastically less support for a marquee sprinter in comparison to the well oiled lead out train of Deceuninck Quick Step. 

Early indications this season suggested that Cofidis had some work to do if they hoped to put Viviani across the line in first place. Time will tell whether or not the decision to join Cofidis will prove to be a good career move for Viviani. 

In the meantime, enjoy a look back at Viviani's 2019 victories in stages 4 and 5 of the Tour de Suisse, his emotional loss to Peter Sagan in the 2018 Gent-Wevelgem, and his victories in the 2019 Cadel Evans' Great Ocean Road Race and stage 5 of the UAE Tour.