Elia Viviani (Cofidis) is fighting to regain his fitness in an attempt to salvage something from his early-season trip to Australia after suffering a major crash in last week's Tour Down Under.

The Italian crashed hard with about 30km to go in the second stage of the six-stage race, sustaining abrasions and a bruised left knee. He completed the remaining three stages, but well below his personal best.

Viviani has since rested to recover for Thursday's Race Torquay and Sunday's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

"I'm just happy to have finished the race and still be on the bike," Viviani told reporters after the Tour Down Under.

"I came here to win the stage, but after the crash I was far from 100 percent and raced in pain. I tried to sprint, but I couldn't show my strength on stage 4, and on stage 5 I fell off the bike on a climb in the second half of the stage.

Viviani will line up in Race Torquay on Thursday before racing Cadel Evans, who won last year after finishing runner-up in 2018. Although sore, the cut will not affect his output on the bike, but his left leg has been weakened by the crash.

"I haven't checked the data, but I think I was fast because I crashed at about 50 km/h. Afterwards I felt straight in the saddle but it seemed like I was pushing with my right leg and not so much with my left leg. I need to straighten myself up for the Cadel Evans race," Viviani said. I have to accept what happened, recover as much as possible, and do my best. It's a good race for me because I've finished second and first in the last two years, and I want to be at 100 percent. In modern cycling, and maybe even in the old days of cycling, you have to be 100% to fight for victory. If we are going to bring home a win from Australia, we need to be at 100%."

The trip to Australia is just one chapter in an eventful season for Viviani, who is aiming to combine sprint wins with success on the track with his new team, Cofidis.

Viviani, an Olympic omnium champion, will defend his title in Tokyo in August and will interrupt his road campaign, which includes the spring classics, Giro d'Italia, and Tour de France, to compete in the track world championships at the end of February.

Despite his busy schedule, Viviani moved quickly to fill the calendar vacated by the cancellation of the Tour of Oman, heading instead to the Volta ao Algarve in mid-February.

"I was supposed to be at the Tour of Oman, but it was cancelled. It will be a good block for the World Championships and the Spring Classics. I'll be home for two weeks after I get back from the Cadel Evans race, then the Algarve, the track world championships, and the Tirreno-Adriatico," Viviani said.

"The Tour de France and the Omnium on the track at the Tokyo Olympics are big goals for me, but I also want to test my limits in Milan - San Remo, Ghent - Wevelgem, and the Tour de Flanders.

"My season is in two parts, first up to the track world championships, then the Tour and the Olympics. I will also ride the Giro d'Italia. My original plan was to do the Tour of California, but I'm happy to be back in the Giro. I wasn't 100% in the Giro last year, and maybe not this year either, but I'll be back."

Viviani is extremely unlikely to finish the Giro d'Italia, given that the final week is almost entirely mountainous and that he plans to complete the Tour to hone his form for Tokyo. It is possible to run both the Tour and the Olympics," he said. It's fortunate that there will be a track race during the Games. With the Omnium taking place 18 days after the final stage of the Tour de France in Paris, he will have time to recover and put his form on the track.

"I'm optimistic about my plans because I always feel good after a Grand Tour, like I'm flying. That's what motivates me going into Tokyo."