"Over the next few years I will try to win the Maglia Rosa" - Antonio Tiberi makes Italian fans dream after securing White Jersey on Giro debut
CyclingSaturday, 25 May 2024 at 20:30
Only getting stronger at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, Bahrain - Victorious' Antonio Tiberi has been one of the most impressive riders at the opening Grand Tour of the year. On the final general classification challenge on stage 20, the Italian finished 4th and secured a 5th overall finish.
For a while, on the final ascent of the Monte Grappa, it looked as if the 22-year-old, in just his third career Grand Tour could dream of the podium as he raced ahead of rivals Geraint Thomas and Ben O'Connor. In the end that wasn't to be, as the duo fought back well and finished alongside Tiberi and others, over two minutes down on the stage winning Maglia Rosa, Tadej Pogacar. Nevertheless, Tiberi did manage to secure himself the White Jersey for Best Young Rider, a sure sign of his immense performance over the last three weeks.
"Today I maybe had my best day here at the Giro," the Bahrain - Victorious man reflects with a smile in his post-stage interview. "I was feeling super good all day and yeah, it was also the last opportunity to try and gain something so on the last climb when Pogacar attacked, I tried to do my best to go full gas. I saw also O'Connor and Geraint starting to drop a bit but when I looked back they were always there within 20 or 25 seconds maximum. I did the downhill full gas but they came back on the last kick."
"It was a super nice day for me," he assesses. "Tomorrow will for sure be one of the best days of my life ever. Riding in Rome, my region, with my friends in Italy and the Giro d'Italia White Jersey, it will be a super special day."
With Italian cycling crying out for the next generation of Grand Tour contenders following the retirement of Vincenzo Nibali, can Tiberi be the one to lead the way and come back in future to win the Maglia Rosa? "Haha hopefully," he laughs when asked. "For sure over the next few years I will try to win the Maglia Rosa."
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- as of the day he rode the TT in yellow at the TDF in ‘21, mvdp had NEVER been in a wind tunnel and NEVER ridden his TT bike a single day except for the days he had to in stage races. that day he finished 5th, one second behind wout, and hung on to his yellow against all expectations.OCexile11-06-2025
- well THIS is music to my ears. i’ve always thought — and said here several times — that van der poel SHOULD be a great time trialist, and the only reason he isn’t is that he just never gives his all unless it’s an event HE genuinely cares about, and for whatever reason he’s just never liked TTs. but his natural riding position is beautifully aerodynamic, and he has the ability to empty his tank to a degree that i think is basically unmatched. i hope his passion for this event grows.OCexile11-06-2025
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- That said, we’ve seen Jonas being real good in TT before but this was really short and favoured others more.Mistermaumau11-06-2025
- People forgot that EVERY rider not past his peak can attain new levels and that no-one can tell when that happens. Last year Tadej and Remco did it and Tadej kind of again this spring but in a different register, this year it’s Mads, and maybe now Jonas? After the jump there is usually a plateau or even a lull before any more improvements so it’s unlikely Tadej will be even better at the Tour whereas it’s likely Jonas could be.Mistermaumau11-06-2025
- Considering the « unlimited » budget they have, that they’re prepared to pay their leader 8 per year, paying a very good domestique who can take over for the leader in emergency or replace when leader isn’t present (winning around 15x already at this age) 2 per year is the price to prevent him becoming a rival at another team until such time as said leader slows or stops. In the meantime, it wouldn’t be in their interest to allow a chap with this character to develop into leader challenging shape so who is to say if he is receiving optimal guidance for developing into a leader beater?Mistermaumau11-06-2025
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maria2024202411-06-2025 - I believe you are underestimating the influence of entourage, you/we have no idea how riders are being prepared and the target/goal management has in mind (which may not always be what they tell the riders) AND whether they are being optimally trained to bring out their FULL potential or just to be optimal servants, those are two very different roles, like comparing cycling with triathlon riding.Mistermaumau11-06-2025
As it stands, I doubt he can win any GC, especially given that he relied on prefered ITTs on GTs, (like Remco does, given their similar TTs reliances), I agree, he does remind me of Rohan Dennis, who's great on TTs, but never really a GT GC rider
Antonio isn't old yet, but I doubt if he's shown enough to become a true GC phenom. He reminds me of Rohan Dennis, a good TT specialist at first, with big GC hopes, but never truly materialized into a Grand Tour GC rider.
Antonio did not kill his wife....