ROME: Italian Elia Viviani, an Olympic gold medallist and winner of stages on all three Grand Tours, announced on Friday his retirement from professional cycling aged 36.

“2010-2025 were 16 fantastic years. They flew by, but I had fun and achieved everything I wanted,” Lotto rider Viviani wrote on social media. “I anno­unce today the end of my professional career. Thank you to everyone involved during these years.”

Viviani, whose previous teams included Ineos and Quick-Step, claimed one stage victory in the Tour de France, five in the Giro d’Italia, including four in 2018 when he won the points classification, and two in the Vuelta a Espana.

Viviani made his name on the track, where he was crowned Olympic omnium champion in Rio in 2016 and won silver in the madison race in Paris last year.

He also took Olympic omnium bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games. He also won two world championship gold medals and eight European track titles.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025