Sonny Colbrelli steps down as Bahrain - Victorious sports director

Former Paris-Roubaix champion Sonny Colbrelli is set to leave his position as sports director at Bahrain - Victorious after a little more than three years in the role.

Colbrelli, who had raced with Bahrain - Victorious from 2017 until his premature retirement in 2022, joined the team’s management shortly after hanging up his bike. His transition from rider to sports director was seen as a natural continuation of his close ties with the squad that had defined the latter half of his racing career, with whom he got 19 out of his 34 professional wins.

The Italian’s departure comes at a moment of broader restructuring within the WorldTour team’s technical staff. Enrico Gasparotto, formerly a sports director with Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe, will take over Colbrelli’s position, as reported by La Gazzeta dello Sport.

Gasparotto spent four seasons with the German squad, which itself has also undergone major changes in its sporting department in recent months. They announced Zak Dempster as the new Chief of Sports a few days ago, in addition to other new faces.

It remains unclear whether Colbrelli will continue in a managerial capacity elsewhere in the peloton. The 2021 Paris-Roubaix winner was forced to retire early the following year after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Volta a Catalunya, which led to a diagnosis of unstable cardiac arrhythmia and ultimately ended his competitive career.

Bahrain Victorious concluded the 2025 season ranked tenth in the UCI standings, even if they just got eight wins. Lenny Martinez, Santiago Buitrago and Damiano Caruso were the only three men to claim victories this season.

Looking ahead, Bahrain Victorious appears committed to building around a blend of established and emerging talents. Among its most promising prospects is Jakob Omrzel, the 19-year-old Slovenian who won the Giro Next Gen this year. Omrzel has a contract with the team until 2029 and will be promoted to the WorldTour roster in 2026.