CYCLING – Team Bahrain Victorious are set to compete from today in the Tirreno-Adriatico, ‘The Race of the Two Seas’, which crosses five regions of central Italy.
The team’s line-up in full for the race is Antonio Tiberi, Damiano Caruso, Pello Bilbao, Robert Stannard, Fran Miholjevic, Andrea Pasqualon and Afonso Eulalio.
This year’s event is its 60th edition and it continues until Sunday. A total distance of 1,142.5 kilometres is split across seven stages, and includes 14,250 metres of altitude difference.It starts with an individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore and ends, as usual, in San Benedetto del Tronto, with plenty of climbs and Apennine passes to negotiate along the way. The longest stage (stage three, 239km) starts from Follonica and arrives at the Valico di Colfiorito, while the highest point (1,558m, Valico la Crocetta) comes on the following day’s route between Norcia and Trasacco. Also of note is the uphill finish at Frontignano (1,327m above sea level), that concludes stage six from Cartoceto.
Bahrain Victorious’ leader for the race is the 2024 Giro d’Italia’s best young rider Tiberi. The Italian finished the Volta ao Algarve strong and feels his form has been improving since the season began.
“I have good feelings and ambitions for this Tirreno-Adriatico,” he said. “I want to perform well, not only for this race but also in preparation for the upcoming challenges on my calendar.“The race will likely follow a similar pattern to last year, starting with the opening time trial, where my goal is to secure a strong result right away. From there, it’s all about staying focused and ready for the demanding stages ahead.
“Last year, I struggled more because it was one of my first races of the season after the cancellation of Ruta del Sol. This time, I’ve had a solid start in Portugal, feeling stronger in the later stages. I hope to continue building my form throughout Tirreno-Adriatico and bring home a strong result.”
Bahrain Victorious sports director Gorazd Stangelj said: “The undisputed leader is Antonio, although we would like to have backups with Damiano and Pello once he has recovered from Strade Bianche. “Robert will sprint when there is a reduced or bunch sprint, and would also like to be there on the breakaway stages with Afonso. Maybe Pello will attack stage five. At the end of the race, a top five result in the general classification would be good, but we would like to have two places in the top ten position. “Above all, Antonio, Damiano and Pello should get good results on the opening stage in the individual time trial.”
Top stories for today:
Record BD800 million housing budget
Taxation agreement with Guernsey approved
Pledge to keep high standards while developing infrastructure
&uuid=(email))