CyclingUpToDate Rating 2023 | Bahrain - Victorious: 7.39

Bahrain - Victorious have finished 6th in the UCI rankings, a season with plenty climbers performing and Matej Mohoric putting on a stunning end of the season.

UCI ranking 2023: 15.787 (6th)

Victories (World Tour): 18 (12)

Top riders in UCI rankings: Pello Bilbao (17th)

Rúben Silva (CyclingUpToDate): 7.5. Bahrain is a mixed bag for me, a weird one to rate. They have several World Tour wins, including all Grand Tours, but it always seemed like they were a step above what they could do. They have plenty quality climbers but the lack of a leader as Jumbo-Visma or UAE Team Emirates see them miss out on stage-race victories. Mikel Landa rode a brilliant spring and then came into form during the Vuelta a Espana, but was completely off form at the Tour de France. Because so many of their results were early in the season they escape memory, but both Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago were very consistent and performed very well this year. Damiano Caruso did a great Giro, Wout Poels won great stages at both Tour and Vuelta, Jonathan Milan broke through to become a terrific sprinter, and Matej Mohoric - who had great legs but little results in the spring - finally took off and swept through races left and right with great wins late in the year. February, March and April however saw them take 0 wins, whilst Jack Haig and Fred Wright lacked form at the Tour de France and did not perform after a very promising June. It felt like they didn't perform when expected but did come close to the best when it wasn't. 

Kieran Wood (CyclingUpToDate): 8. Stage wins at all three Grand Tours through five different riders (Jonathan Milan - Giro stage 2, Santiago Buitrago - Giro stage 19, Pello Bilbao - Tour stage 10, Matej Mohoric - Tour stage 19 and Wout Poels - Tour stage 15 + Vuelta stage 20), Jonathan Milan’s points classification victory at the Giro d’Italia, three National Championship wins and Matej Mohoric being crowned Gravel World Champion there were plenty of big wins in 2023. Back that up with credible podium challenges at each Grand Tour and it’s a very impressive campaign for Bahrain. Sadly though, despite their incredible season, overshadowing it all is the tragic death of Gino Mäder at the Tour de Suisse. An incident the broke the hearts of cycling fans across the world but makes all the team’s subsequent wins that much more impressive.

Ondřej Zhasil (CyclingUpToDate): 7.5. Bahrain had a tougher year than they had expected. All in all, it was a solid season where they were often 'the best of the rest'. We've seen them a often. We've seen them a lot. But in the end, they often had to settle for a result that didn't quite reflect their efforts.

Juan Larra (CiclismoAlDia): 8. A season of high marks for a team that realised that it did not have riders of sufficient quality to win stage races and has managed to finish the year with victories in the Giro d'Italia (2), Tour de France (3) and Vuelta a España (1). In addition, he finished with top 10 finishes in all three: Pello Bilbao sixth in the Tour, Mikel Landa fifth in the Vuelta and Damiano Caruso fourth in the Giro. Special mention for Wout Poels who has gone from being a luxury domestique or a man capable of picking the breakaways to perfection to win the Tour and Vuelta. A step forward by Jonathan Milan in the sprints would give them a great leap in quality in 2024.

Jorge Borreguero (CiclismoAlDia): 7. Bahrain Victorious has had quite a remarkable year, with a great performance in the Tour de France with stage wins for Matej Mohoric, Pello Bilbao and Wout Poels. With two more in the Giro d'Italia and one in the Vuelta a España, the Bahrain team has established itself as one of the peloton's stage-hunting specialists.

Victor Gonzalez (CiclismoAlDia): 7.5. The season was marked by the sad death of Gino Mäder. Despite this, top 10 in the three Grand Tours, plus podiums and top 5 in numerous World Tour level races show a remarkable season for Bahrain-Victorious.

Filipe Pereira (CiclismoAtual): 7.5. Bahrain Victorious had a good season. Plenty of significant wins, representing a significant threat on every field, whether it was a sprint, mountain breakaway or a GC standing, they were pretty much there for every occasion. If you go back to the major moments of this season, chances are you will find a Bahrain guy there, be it Wout Poels, Mikel Landa, Santiago Buitrago, Jonathan Milan, Phil Bauhaus or Pello Bilbao. Not an amazing season, lacking that one big win, but definitely not a team that went under the radar in 2023.

Carlos Silva (CiclismoAtual): 6. The only team in the peloton i don´t understand. Win´s Grand Tour stages but they never had a leader. Landa leaving is the best thing who happens to the team. 2024 will be better for sure.

Ivan Silva (CiclismoAtual): 7.5. 6 stage wins split between 3 Grand Tours also with 3 Top 10 finishes on the general classification and the points classification won at Giro DÍtalia. Very solid 1-week race campaigns this season including Matej Mohoric's win at Tour de Pologne and also a Top 3 in Liege monument.