Elia Viviani's gold medal in the elimination race at the European Championships was quite an accomplishment in itself, but even more extraordinary when one considers that he had finished in the top 10 in the road race just five hours earlier.

While his road race rivals were recovering and resting after more than 200 km and nearly five hours of racing, Viviani headed straight to the Munich velodrome.

After a quick warm-up, he donned his rainbow skin suit for the elimination race.

He went above and beyond, combining risky but necessary energy-saving tactics in the early stages of the race, increasing his pace as the pack thinned out, and then tactfully passing the last racer with relative ease to win gold.

"This is the second time I've worn the rainbow jersey, and I doubt I'll ever wear it again.

"To be honest, Marco Villa wasn't too happy with my choice, and Roberto Amadio and President Dagnoni were more convinced.

Viviani led Italy in Sunday's road race, sprinting to seventh place in a large group in Munich. He finished the race just before 3 p.m. and competed in Sunday's evening session just five hours later.

"After the road race, I took the national team bus and showered.

"I arrived at the velodrome an hour before the elimination race and warmed up for 30 minutes.

The clock struck 9:00 p.m. and I had my gold medal around my neck, but there was still no time to rest. 'I have to celebrate Jacopo Guarnieri's birthday,' he said.

Viviani will not compete in the Grand Tours in his first season back with Ineos Grenadiers, but will return to the sprint-friendly classics in Hamburg and Brittany.