Rod Ellingworth sees 'that X factor' in Antonio Tiberi as Italian nears potential UAE Tour win

The UAE Tour had Remco Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro at the startlist and because of this, the overall win in the World Tour's second stage-race would be highly presitigious to anyone. Antonio Tiberi is now in the lead instead, and if he is able to secure the title, it might just be the win he needed to finally become a top rider.

"We've got the plans for stuff, but he's just sort of turned a bit of a corner, I think, in his life, and he's working well with the coach and the group who's around him," Bahrain - Victorious' Rod Ellingworth said in words to Cyclingnews. "He's in really good shape, so we didn't have any doubt about his condition coming into the race".

"It was not a surprise internally. I think you can always name maybe five riders who you know are guaranteed, then there's another 10 riders who have shown promise in the past or got potential and everything else – that's where Antonio has sat for the last year or two, but I think he's turned that corner a little bit now."

The Italian rider was fifth at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, finally proving his potential as a Grand Tour rider. He would have strong results afterwards, but not in the Grand Tours, as he abandoned the Vuelta with heatstroke; crashed at the 2025 Giro and then never found his form at the 2025 Vuelta. Into 2026, he has shown the potential to be amongst the best, now he may becoming one.

The victory on Jebel Mobrah was a notable point in his career, only his second ever stage win on the road, but this being on one of the World Tour's most difficult climbs. He beat quality competition, in a day also marked by the heat. Estimates point towards a 6.8W/Kg effort throughout 24 minutes, which would be highly promising and potentially a career-best performance during a race.

"He's got the physical attributes, and from a maturity point of view, I think that's where he's starting to now come into his own. And he's got character, there's something about him, that X Factor sort of new thing, and they need that. But you see more and more of that, though, these days, and that's why it's getting harder to get these big results, but he's progressed really well."

At the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana he already looked strong, being the last rider able to follow Remco Evenepoel on the queen stage to Teulada; but at the UAE the situation and the conditions are different. For Bahrain - Victorious, it was also a much needed boost. "Obviously we're happy for a couple of reasons. One is just that he's got himself there, he's really worked hard the winter, and you can see he's matured as an athlete".

"I think everybody knows that we talk a lot about potential, but then there's that moment where you've got to actually deliver and actually do the business. And I think he's proved it there; that was a world-class win," Ellingworth, formerly a manager at INEOS, applauded. "And the second thing is that it was our first win of the season."

In a race where consistency is key due to the time trial and two difficult summit finishes, Tiberi has ridden a spotless race. He was just outside the Top10 in the time trial, and also captured 4 bonus seconds on the opening day's uphill sprint.

"There are some brilliant quality bike riders out there, you know. And on Remco, was that a true Remco we saw yesterday? No, it wasn't; something happened there to him, whatever that was. And Del Toro, we weren't expecting that from him, but it's just bike racing, isn't it?"

"These guys, they're not robots, they have [off] days, and you look at Remco and his quality, and how he's ridden the last few races, it's fantastic. But we know Antonio is good, and on the right day, you can win. So he proved that yesterday."