Tadej Pogacar was on a whole different level at Port Ainé, in the third stage of the Volta a Catalunya, however not everyone was looking to match him. Riding within themselves, Bahrain - Victorious managed to come out with a third and fourth place on the day.
“I think as a team we had a very good ride. We have consciously chosen not to respond to Tadej Pogacar," Wout Poels said in a post-race interview. "He is currently racing at a different level. I think Antonio [Tiberi] also rode very maturely, by just following and not going too early. At the risk of exploding.” At Vallter 2000 the Bahrain riders were rather absent from the action but that was not the case on the third day of racing. Whilst Mikel Landa, Sepp Kuss and Aleksandr Vlasov took most of the responsibility attacking in the chasing group behind, Poels and Antonio Tiberi followed the wheels closely and saved their legs for the final kilometer.
Following a late move from Sepp Kuss, both riders then rode to third and fourth on the day, only behind the demolishing Pogacar and Mikel Landa. They finished 1:03 minutes behind the Slovenian, but climbed to 8th and 12th respectively after a very strong performance. This comes as a very good sign for the Grand Tours, with both riders showing an extremely high level among strong and consolidated GC riders.
They did not explode and give this as a reason for their success in the final minute of racing on the day. “This happened to the riders we eventually managed to overtake. Overall we did very well," the Dutchman accesses. "I feel that I am in good condition. I am looking forward to rising even further in the rankings."
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