CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious riders delivered strong performances yesterday in separate elite men’s road races in Europe.
In the opening stage of the Vuelta a Burgos in Spain, Afonso Eulalio claimed an impressive third, with Bahrain Victorious teammate Damiano Caruso fifth.
Meanwhile, at the Tour de Pologne in Poland, Antonio Tiberi sprinted to fourth on stage two in a demanding uphill finale.
The Vuelta a Burgos kicked off with 204.6km from Olmillos de Sasamon to Burgos (Castillo), the longest day of this edition. It set the tone for a challenging week on Spain’s undulating terrain. The finish was a sharp ramp to the Castillo de Burgos (900 metres at five per cent), where Santiago Buitrago triumphed in 2022.
The race was animated by a six-man breakaway, including Dries De Bondt and Carlos Garcia Pierna, who managed to stay out longer than the others and were caught at 15km from the finish. Shortly after, Samuel Fernandez launched a solo attack, but his effort was neutralised precisely as the peloton hit the final climb, with just 500m to go.
Roger Adria and Jordan Labrosse opened the sprint, while behind them, a crash involving Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Ciccone disrupted the chasing group. This allowed Adria and Labrosse to contest the win, with the Spaniard taking victory and the first leader’s jersey.
Bahrain Victorious’ Eulalio, making his debut at the Vuelta a Burgos, crossed the line in third place, four seconds behind the front duo, with Caruso two places further back.
Reflecting on his result, the 23-year-old Portuguese rider said: “It’s great to return to competition with a strong result, especially after the team placed their trust in me for this race and after all the hard work at the altitude training camp. I hope to keep this momentum going in the next stages.”
Bahrain Victorious sports director Neil Stephens was pleased with the team’s execution and highlighted the collective effort. “Today, we aimed to protect Damiano and position him well into the final kilometre, but we also told the guys to stay alert for any tactical opportunities that wouldn’t compromise our main goal,” said Stephens.
“The team rode aggressively, trying to exploit the crosswinds, but when it became clear it wouldn’t split, we focused on setting up for the finale. The guys did a great job bringing both Damiano and Afonso into the climb in a perfect position. They were fortunate to avoid the crash in the final metres and capitalised on it to finish third and fifth.
“It’s a great result, putting both riders high in the general classification (GC), and a very positive start for us at Burgos.”
Almost simultaneously in Poland, Tiberi secured fourth place in the uphill sprint on stage two of the Tour de Pologne.
The closing punchy final climb had a gradient of 8.2 per cent in the last kilometre, where a late attack from Paul Lapeira proved decisive, as he crossed the line a couple of seconds ahead of Mathias Vacek in second and Victor Langellotti in third. Tiberi followed closely, moving up to fifth in the GC, now just 12 seconds off the lead held by Lapeira.
After the stage, Tiberi had mixed feelings. “I had good legs, although similar to San Sebastian [three days ago], I struggled with cramps and muscle fatigue in the final 15km to 20km,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d handle the finish, but I managed to find a good rhythm during the day and recovered well. On the last climb, I was at my limit but had decent sensations and gave everything to the line.
“The final 10km were chaotic – it was difficult to move up, the pace was high, and the roads were tricky. With the Vuelta a España approaching, I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.”
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