Against all odds, Portuguese Conti rider Afonso Eulalio headlines Bahrain's four newest recruits for upcoming season
Cycling
Just like Alpecin-Deceuninck, Bahrain - Victorious also prefers to keep things simple when it comes to transfers. Today, they announced signing of four new riders for 2025 in rather minimalistic fashion. Pair of riders get promoted from development team while the other two come from lower divisions to make a WorldTour debut.
Bahrain needs to bounce back from what was quite a disastrous season, dropping from nearly 16.000 UCI points last year to under 10.000 in 2024. And it's not bought out by particularly strong performances, with most of team being anonymous for large part of the season. Quite frankly, the new signings don't seem to be able to solve Bahrain's persistent problem of overall roster quality, but it might be justified investition into future with WorldTour licenses for 2026-28 pretty much secured.
Afonso Eulálio
Perhaps the most attractive signing for next period is the 23-year-old Portuguese climber Afonso Eulálio. Through a hard work and dedication, Eulálio fought against the stereotypes of domestic Conti scene to deserve a spot among pros. His most remarkable results of 2024 include 5th place at Vuelta a Asturias (2.1), 2nd at GP Torres Vedras (2.2) and a top-10 at Grandissíma - Volta a Portugal, after having led the race for a long time.
"I feel very happy to be joining the team for the next two years," Eulálio assures in a press release. "I hope that with this opportunity I get the chance to continuously evolve and grow with one of the best teams in the world. I feel so motivated, and I look forward to thanking the team for the chance they gave me by showing it during the races."
Mathijs Paasschens
Another WorldTour debutant is Mathijs Paasschens. Contrary to Eulálio, Passchens actually has six years-worth of experience racing at a professional level. But the 28-year-old breakaway specialist only takes the step up now, after two years with Lotto Dstny.
"Over the past years I’ve been trying to improve myself step by step. I’m looking forward to this next step in my career and believe that the professional environment and ambitions within the team will help me in developing myself even further. I want to prove myself as a valuable rider who the team can count on. I can’t wait to meet the whole team at training camp in December."
Recruits from CTF Victorious
Following the suit, also Bahrain-Victorious has its own U23-focused developement team (and a U19 team as well). Zak Erzen, Max Van der Meulen and Daniel Skerl were already confirmed to promote to WorldTour earlier this season. Now it's Russian all-rounder Roman Ermakov (2004) and British climber Oliver Stockwell (2002) also making the step up.
Ermakov is a rider not afraid to attack from afar, winning races such as GP Kranj (1.2) with long solos. But he also packs an okay sprint in a small group, such as the one he displayed to win the Ruota d'Oro (1.2U). Stockwell seemed to be on his way to become a pro after strong 2022 campaign, but an injury forced him to sit out most of last year and the return in 2024 wasn't as impressive as Stockwell may have hoped. Regardless, the team trusts in the British climber and gives him a chance to prove his potential among pros from next season.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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✍️ We are excited to announce the addition of four talented riders to our roster for the upcoming 2025 season: Mathijs Paasschens Afonso Eulálio Roman Ermakov Oliver Stockwell #RideAsOne 🔗 bit.ly/3C4j9g1
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