Bahrain Victorious set for 21-stage Giro d’Italia

TDT | Manama  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Team Bahrain Victorious is set to compete with an eight-member squad in the first of three Grand Tours in this season’s Union Cycliste Internationale World Tour.

The 105th edition of the prestigious Giro d’Italia is scheduled to start today with the first of 21 stages from Budapest, Hungary.

The race will cover a total of 3,445.6km and 50,580 vertical metres before finishing in Verona, Italy on May 29. Bahrain Victorious will be looking to go one better than last year’s event, when Damiano Caruso battled to second in the general classification after losing Mikel Landa in an early crash.

This year, Landa will be hoping for better fortunes after showing strong form at Tirreno and the Tour of Alps. “I feel really good for this Giro again, and after the crash last year, I’ve got a new opportunity, and I’m feeling super good and confident,” Landa said.

“I’ve got a super team around me, and my last races have been really positive, and I think everything has gone to plan in the lead up to the race.” Landa will have the support of fellow basque rider and UAE Tour podium finisher Pello Bilbao, Ruta del Sol winner Wout Poels, and Saudi Tour stage winner Santiago Buitrago in the high mountains.

Alongside them will be Slovenian time trial champion Jan Tratnik and Domen Novak looking to support the race’s tricky flat and hilly sections. Finally, Jasha Sutterlin will lead Phil Bauhaus in the sprints, with Bauhaus looking to add to his success in Hungary, where he won two stages at Tour de Hongrie last season.

Bahrain Victorious sports director Gorazd Stangelj commented on the upcoming Giro: “We come into this year’s Giro looking for victory in the general classification as the primary goal.

However, we want to be active throughout this Giro and look for opportunities for potential stage wins in the sprints and breakaways. “Overall, we’ve got a really balanced team for flat, hilly and high mountain stages, which is a requirement for this edition of the race as there are a few tricky flat stages, while you can do a great job in the high mountains if you have the numbers.”