Antonio Tiberi recalls climbing with Tadej Pogacar at the Giro d'Italia: "It seems like he's not even struggling"
Cycling
Antonio Tiberi has performed strongly at age 22 this year finishing close to the podium of the Giro d'Italia and winning the youth classification. However, he recalls the Corsa Rosa as a race where Tadej Pogacar was on a class of his own and the comfort in which the now-World Champion was climbing next to his rivals.
“I can say that my 2024 was a year with some ups and downs. Luckily, up until my main goal of the season, which was the Giro d’Italia, everything went smoothly and it went very well," Tiberi said in an interview with Sky Sports. "The fifth place finish, with the Maglia Bianca, was an excellent result". In his first full season with Bahrain - Victorious he built up perfectly for the Giro, and seemed to be on the perfect path again at the Vuelta a España until he was taken out of the race with heat stroke.
"Then I also tried to do the second Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España 2024, and things were going well there too, at least until the ninth stage". However soon after he would win the first stage-race of his career. "After that retirement, I still recovered quite well and I also managed to win the Tour of Luxembourg 2024. I also wanted to close the season in the best possible way by doing well at Il Lombardia 2024, but an intestinal virus put me out of action”.
Overall however a strong year, one where he's consolidated himself as a trustworthy leader, who is also a complete and consistent stage-racer. For 2025 the goal is not yet decided: "We still have to understand what the main objective will be, between the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. If it's the Giro, the ambition with which I will face it will be to get on the final podium". This will largely depend on the riders that will focus on each Grand Tour, which should largely be announced now in December.
Tiberi was also asked about competing against Tadej Pogacar, whom he saw quite a lot at the Giro. "What's it like racing with him? There are good sides and less good sides. The good one is that one day I will be able to say that I was there fighting with Tadej Pogačar, while he was writing history."
"The less good ones are the moments in which you are full uphill and you see him starting like that, when it seems like he's not even struggling. It makes you think that if he weren't there, you could emerge more, but that's the beauty of sport. Every discipline has its own character that stands out, we have Tadej”.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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