Santiago Buitrago will spearhead the Team Bahrain Victorious line-up in this year’s Tour de France, the squad announced yesterday.
The young Colombian will be supported by a wealth of experience, including three stage winners from last year’s Tour: Spaniard Pello Bilbao, Dutchman Wout Poels, and Slovenian Matej Mohoric.
Australian Jack Haig and Briton Fred Wright will play crucial roles in supporting the team while also seeking their own opportunities throughout the race. Rounding out the line-up, German Nikias Arndt will act as the final lead-out man for countryman Phil Bauhaus, who aims to claim his first Tour de France win after finishing inside the top three on three occasions last year.
For the first time, the Tour de France will begin in Italy on July 29, with the Grand Départ from Florence kicking off 21 days of intense racing across 3,497 kilometres and over 53,000 vertical metres of climbing.
Buitrago, making his debut in the race’s 111th edition, will draw confidence from his recent successes on Italian soil at the Giro d’Italia in 2022 and 2023, where he secured stage wins in his last two appearances.“I’m really excited about my first Tour de France, the team and I have been working hard over in Andorra at training camp, and I think at this Tour you need to be ready from the first stage,” said Buitrago. “I am fighting to do my best in the GC, and there is really strong competition, but I know that if I follow my race, I can be up there with the best talents and also fight for the white jersey,” Buitrago added. “I have a great team with a lot of experience who will guide and help me through the upcoming three weeks.”
The 21 stages of the Tour have been categorised into eight flat stages, four intermediate stages, seven mountain stages, and two individual time trials (ITT). While the overall competition will likely be decided in the Alps, this year’s Tour offers no easy weeks. The action starts as early as stage four, with riders tackling 3,625 vertical metres across just 130km of racing before a 25km ITT on stage seven caps the first week. Week two promises back-to-back challenging stages on stages 14 and 15, with 8,838 vertical metres across three Hors catégorie climbs, including the Col du Tourmalet, a 19km ascent with an average gradient of 7.4 per cent. Following the second rest day, stage 16 moves towards the south coast of France. Although a flat stage, the potential for echelons could catch out the general classification (GC) contenders.
The final three days will be crucial, featuring two decisive mountain stages in the Alps with a total of 8,734 vertical metres of climbing. The highlight will be the Hors catégorie Cime de la Bonnette, a 22.9km climb with an average gradient of 6.9 per cent, reaching an elevation of 2,802m. This is the highest paved road in France and was last featured in the Tour in 2008.
Following these gruelling stages, the race concludes with a challenging 33.7km ITT from Monaco to Nice, marking the first time the Tour de France will end outside of Paris due to the Olympics.
“The difficulties are pretty spread out over the three weeks straight from the beginning, and you’ll need to be 100 per cent from the off,” said Bilbao. “You can’t start the Tour and expect to grow in the race. It’s going to be crucial to be ready.” Added Mohoric: “It’s going to be full-on racing from the first two days. Physically, I feel ready and motivated for the Tour. It’s the biggest race of the year, so I will be doing my best to make the most of the opportunity. “As far as the team goals, we have a really strong line-up with some guys for the GC, and we will also look to support Phil in the sprint. But honestly, I think any member of this team is capable of winning a stage at this year’s Tour.”
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