After claiming the coveted ciclamino jersey for winning the points classification at the Giro d’Italia, Elia Viviani believes he is at the beginning of the “best years of my career”.

Viviani, 29, enjoyed a supreme 2018 Giro on home soil, where he won four of the 21 stages. The Quick-Step Floors rider made the ciclamino jersey his own, wearing it for the first time after winning Stage 2 in Tel Aviv and taking it off Stage 1 winner and 2017 Giro champion Tom Dumoulin.

Viviani was not going to relinquish his hold on it easily and wore it for the next 20 stages to be crowned points classification king, with 341 points, 59 ahead of Bora-Hansgrohe’s Sam Bennett.

And Viviani is ecstatic to have joined a long list of compatriots who also wore mauve at the Giro over the years.

“It’s a sprinter’s dream to wear this jersey. It’s like the green jersey in the Tour (de France). I wear also the red jersey in the last few years but when it went back to the ciclamino jersey I think it has more history,” said the affable Italian, who hopes future cyclists will perhaps look up to him one day as one of his country’s greats.

“(Alessandro) Petacchi won the jersey, (Daniele) Bennati also in the ciclamino jersey, (Mario) Cipollini. I see my jersey and I think ‘Oh maybe in a few years some other sprinters see me in the jersey and they dream about being like me’.”

Viviani won four stages at this year’s Giro.

Viviani has lived in the shadows of other riders for much of his career. He was even overlooked for his home race at Team Sky a year ago, as Chris Froome led the team.

And Viviani took that as a sign that the time had come to move on. He’s since signed for Quick-Step and has been on fire in the first half of 2018.

He won Stage 2 on his way to the points classification jersey at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February, having won two stages, the points and overall title at the Dubai Tour weeks earlier.

He was also runner-up at Gent–Wevelgem, fueling his burgeoning reputation as one of the best sprinters in cycling. And now he has a coveted home win to call his own, but he is not content to stop now.

“Being a rider of Quick-Step is a big chance. That team is a sprinter team,” Viviani said.

“All the guys are really good to do leadouts and 10 times from 10 sprints I can play for the win. Year by year I want to always improve. Now we are on the top and it is not the end but the start of the best years of my career.”

Viviani paid tribute to his team and fellow Quick-Step riders, referred to as the Wolfpack, for their efforts at this year’s Giro.

And having for so long felt like an outcast at Sky, Viviani is feeling right at home with the Belgian team.

“Being part of Quick-Step is amazing and being part of the Wolfpack is more amazing again, they believe in me,” added Viviani, the 2016 Olympic champion in the omnium.

Viviani’s chances of a third stage win in Imola were ruined by the rain and fierce crosswinds, but he recovered to claim victory on the following day’s Stage 13 from Ferrara to Nervesa della Battaglia – Viviani was also triumphant on Stage 3 and 17.

He added: “All the team around me the night after Imola, we celebrate like a win just to put a smile back on the face. In the difficult moment we bring always our strong part inside and then in my head I need to smash it tomorrow because these guys deserve this.

Viviani began life at Quick-Step by sprinting to the Dubai Tour title.

“I’m really quiet but I transform myself in the last km. The adrenaline starts to go up, I start to analyse everything around me; the wind, the riders, I start to see if I’m in a good position, if I need to start the sprint, when and where, and in this moment is where my determination starts to come out.

“In the bus you have guys like (Philippe) Gilbert, (Niki) Terpstra, (Julian) Alaphilippe, Bob (Jungels), all these big games and they ride for you, for one rider they decide to sacrifice their results for you, that is the secret of the Wolfpack.”

Outside the team he also heaped praise on the Quick-Step fans and his partner Elena Cecchini, who is also a professional cyclist.

“To be a sprinter you need sometimes to be a little bit crazy. Always in sprints there is some risk, you take risks if you want to win. To have all these people around me like a fan club was really amazing,” he added.

“They celebrate with me in the Nervasa della Battaglia (after Stage 13 win) and I think it gave me more power in the legs but also the mind.

“Elena is a pro cyclist so that has helped me a lot because she understands everything. When we can I do sacrifice to go to her and then when she can she comes to me.”