Elia Viviani said goodbye to competitive athletics in the most beautiful way, winning his third world track title in the Elimination event at the World Championships in Santiago, Chile.

Viviani admits he treated his last race as if it were his first: "In the pre-race, I was nervous like a rookie. Then, as soon as they pushed me to start, everything vanished. I entered a bubble, like in a movie. That's when I realized it would end the right way," he explained to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

And so it was: arms raised to the sky, wife Elena in the stands, and the feeling of having come full circle. "I've reached peace of mind. I'm not changing my mind about retiring: it's the perfect time to stop."

His list of achievements includes iconic moments, such as winning Olympic gold at Rio 2016 and the honor of being Italy's flag bearer. "Representing the country is an indescribable source of pride; it gave me the confidence to finish on a high."
Among the regrets, however, is “the 2018 Ghent-Wevelgem, which narrowly missed out on Sagan”.

Viviani is optimistic about the future of the Italian movement: "We've relaunched the track, with three medals at Paris 2024. On the road, everyone struggles against Pogacar, but there are some interesting youngsters like Lorenzo Finn, who has something extra. I realized this by riding alongside him: everything comes naturally to him."

For his post-competitive career, Elia already has a clear idea: "I'd like to become a team manager. I'll definitely stay in cycling, because it's my life."