No more Grand Tour snubs: Newest Bahrain - Victorious star gets to choose his own adventure

The transfer market has been boiling in the past months, as it always happens every year, with plenty of riders switching teams. One of them was Attila Valter, as the Hungarian champion is leaving Team Visma | Lease a Bike after 3 seasons to start a new adventure with Bahrain - Victorious.

The 27-year old has proven to be a very reliable domestique, a mandatory condition if your team is full of superstars such as Jonas Vingegaard or Wout van Aert. However, one of the downsides of riding for one of the best teams in the world is that you can hardly find any opportunities to fight for your own success.

That is what happened to Valter every year, and the situation got even more difficult in 2025 as he was not selected to compete in any of the Grand Tours. That was one of the reasons that led him to move to a different project in which he can have a much bigger and important role.

“The team’s goals are perfectly matching with my personal ones. This gives me a lot of confidence and I’m excited to start this journey together with them," Valter said back in August when the transfer was announced.

“We are very pleased to welcome Attila to Bahrain Victorious. He is a rider we’ve followed for a long time and believe he has the potential to take another step forward with us. Over the next two years, we see him playing a crucial role in the mountains – supporting our GC leaders while also having the freedom to chase his own results,” team director Milan Ezren said, hinting that the Hungarian rider would have many chances to shine.

This statement seems to be accurate, and Valter has recently confirmed to Eurosport Hungary that the Bahrain - Victorious management sent him a complete list of all the races in which the team is set to participate in the upcoming season and asked him to choose his ideal calendar at his convenience.

Valter was reportedly allowed to put together almost the entire schedule after discussing it with the team, which shows he is regarded as a key and a valuable piece, as very few riders have that privilege.

This comes after the GC leaders of Bahrain have allegedly already decided which Grand Tours they will target. Antonio Tiberi and Lenny Martinez will have a dual leadership at the Tour, while Santiago Buitrago will lead the team at the Giro.