"His confidence in his own abilities is constantly increasing" - Bahrain DS on the growth of Santiago Buitrago as GC leader
Cycling
Last week's Volta a Comunitat Valenciana offered a highly enjoyable battle for top placings with Santiago Buitrago coming out on top with superb performances. After mediocre 2024 season, it's good news for Bahrain - Victorious who could once again stand to their name thanks to the Colombian climber.
Did sports director Roman Kreuziger expect Buitrago to arrive at such phenomenal shape to Valenciana? "Yes, because we gave him some freedom in December: he didn't come to the altitude with us, he stayed in Colombia in his environment. In January he was with the team for only a week before going straight up to Teide," he tells Bici.pro.
"I followed his training and I saw that he was ready: he was doing important numbers for the first part of the season," The individual preparation back in South America clearly paid off as the 25-year-old went on to win two hard stages along with the general classifcation.
Read also
Kreuziger is pleased to see the young rider grow also a leader: "Physically he continues to improve, but his real advantage is that since he was not a leader when he was young, he is growing slowly, learning year after year. His confidence in his own abilities is constantly increasing and he is also maturing as a person."
"Before he was more shy, now instead, when he feels good, he does not hesitate to call his teammates on the radio, to keep them closer during the race. Even in the pre-race meetings he asks for more things. This is fundamental, because a leader must motivate the whole group around him."
What's on Buitrago's plate for 2025? Some assumed he has grown to be in the contention for a nice result at the Giro d'Italia but Bahrain - Victorious will instead allow Buitrago to take on the Tour de France once again, hoping to improve his 10th place from last year.
"He already had a first taste of the Tour last year, racing Paris-Nice and then the Dauphiné before starting the Grande Boucle. He finished the Tour in the top 10, an excellent result for his first experience. This year we will repeat a similar program just to see how far he has arrived, but without putting pressure on him."
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.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- 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
- 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
Loading
Write a comment