Wout Poels & Antonio Tiberi lead Bahrain-Victorious in Giro d'Italia warmup at the Tour of the Alps

We don't have too long to wait now until the first Grand Tour of the season. In a Giro d'Italia prelude at the Tour of the Alps, Bahrain - Victorious will be relying on the strengths of Wout Poels and Antonio Tiberi for success.

“An overall victory to complete our podium results at the Tour of the Alps would surpass our expectations,” says Bahrain - Victorious Sports Director Franco Pellizotti, in a preview for the team's official website. “But our riders will give their all to be competitive and achieve the best results possible both on stages and overall.”

Poels, who will be looking to complete his set of Grand Tour stage wins at the upcoming Giro d'Italia, will have plenty of opportunities to shine alongside Tiberi in the Alps according to Pellizotti. “Our youngster Antonio Tiberi will lead the team, with veteran Wout Poels serving as co-leader and road captain,” Pellizotti adds. “Together, they will support each other in pursuit of victory and aim to race strategically for an excellent GC result. Coming off a period at altitude, their primary goal will be to regain their racing form. The Tour of the Alps will serve as a benchmark for them ahead of the Giro, providing an opportunity to test themselves and improve their shape.”

“We believe these profiles suit Poels well,” concludes Pellizotti. “If he manages to stay at the front in the finale, arriving in small groups, we can take advantage of his sprint skills to beat our rivals. From stage 3, the focus will shift more to GC, as the climbing difficulties increase. The Queen stage will be the showdown, but the last day could also shake up the overall standings.”

Antonio Tiberi, Wout Poels, Finlay Pickering, Torstein Traeen, Alberto Bruttomesso and Sergio Tu.