29/04/2024

Bahrain - Victorious back Antonio Tiberi & Damiano Caruso for Giro d'Italia GC with Wout Poels notable omission

Bahrain - Victorious have become the latest to unveil their lineup for the upcoming Giro d'Italia with youth and experience in Antonio Tiberi and Damiano Caruso coming together to lead the charge for the Maglia Rosa.

“This is my first Giro, so as an Italian cyclist I’m in dreamworld really! It’s been an ambition for me since I started riding a bike, so I’m really emotional to be with the fans – on the roadside and also those watching on TV," previews Tiberi to his team's website. "I am a proud Italian, and these are the roads of my country, so I am excited and super emotional about being here, as well as very proud that the team have the faith in me to make me leader.”

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Alongside the two climbing leaders, Phil Bauhaus will also be present at the startline, offering the team a chance to win in a different way. “We need to balance the strengths we have with us in Bauhaus on the flat, and Tiberi/Caruso in the mountains. We would like to win stages with Phil and also do well on GC," assesses the teams sports director, Gorazd Štangelj.

"We have the tools and the riders to compete in the sprint stages and overall. We don’t want to split our aims too much, so we will try to use other teams’ strengths to our benefit. On top of that, Rainer Kepplinger is a bit of a wild card; nobody knows him that much so we may be able to spring a surprise with him,” Stangelj concludes. “We dream about a podium with Antonio or Damiano, but we will have to see how things turn out each day. Anything can happen, and you need focus from the beginning. Everyone’s work will be cut out from day 1, and we have a team to compete every day.”