“The label of Italy’s spearhead makes me proud" - Antonio Tiberi dreaming of Giro d'Italia podium in 2025

After a very impressive debut last year, winning the White Jersey, Italian Grand Tour prospect Antonio Tiberi is set to return to his home Grand Tour in 2025 and the 23-year-old is dreaming of making an appearance on the Giro d'Italia podium.

“It will certainly be a spectacular Giro from start to finish,” the Bahrain - Victorious star previews of the upcoming route, in conversation with La Gazzetta dello Sport immediately after the Grand Tour's presentation. “I don’t know all the climbs there, especially those in the Piedmont and France areas, and I’ve never done the Colle delle Finestre. Also because I did my first Giro d’Italia last year and I’ve never done the Tour de France, but I’m still planning to go and reconnoitre several stages.”

As mentioned, Tiberi performed admirably at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, finishing 5th in the general classification and taking home the White Jersey as Best Young Rider. This year though, the Italian wants to take the next step. “The goal for 2025 is the podium," he explains fiercely. "It certainly won't be easy, it will require a lot of effort and a lot of luck too. I will try to improve on the results of 2024.”

The leading light of the next generation of Italian Grand Tour riders, Tiberi also has extra incentive to impress at the Giro. “The label of Italy’s spearhead makes me proud," he says to TuttoSport. "It is a notable incentive to prepare well for the 2025 season which will not be decisive, but important. It is exhilarating to fight to make Italians happy.”

“In the last few months I have worked a lot in the gym to increase my strength. Now I feel stronger, and the activity in the gym has given me tone. I have grown, more developed, certainly with an increased engine capacity compared to January 2024," Tiberi concludes. "To prepare well for the Giro that will end in Rome, near my home, I will spend at least three periods at high altitude, on Mount Teide. I will go there before the Volta ao Algarve, then as a preview of the Tour of the Alps and there will probably be the third training camp closer to the Giro. We Bahrain Victorious boys are at home on Teide. The three preparation sessions on Teide make it complicated or impossible to include road races in the program. I will have to give up Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne which I really like.”