Youth and experience on display as Bahrain-Victorious announce balanced squad for Tour de France

Team Bahrain-Victorious announced their line-up for the Tour de France on Sunday afternoon, with a focus on stage hunting along with the aim of breaking into the top ten on the general classification.

The eight riders selected balance experience on the road with options for every type of stage profile.

The team’s GC campaign will centre around Antonio Tiberi. The Italian will make his debut at the race, and will aim to break into the top ten; his previous best result in a Grand Tour overall classification is a 5th place finish at the 2024 Giro d’Italia.

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In his retirement year, Damiano Caruso will ride his final Tour de France with the possibility of going for a Grand Tour hat-trick, the 38-year-old Italian veteran looking to add a Tour stage to his victories at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.

Seeking out such wins are three-time stage winner Matej Mohorič, who will target rolling and classics-style stages, in-form climber Lenny Martinez, who spent time in the polka dot jersey at last year’s Tour and who impressed with his form at last week’s Tour de Suisse, and experienced fast man Phil Bauhaus, who will hope to be present in the eight stages forecast to end in a bunch sprint.

Additionally, 22-year-old Belgian Vlad Van Mechelen will make his debut at the race, hoping to follow up on his impressive breakaway ride at the recent Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tour, where he finished third on stage 2.

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Rounding out the line-up, in support of their leaders, are Australian climber Rob Stannard, and 35-year-old Polish rider Kamil Gradek, who has been named as road captain.

The Tour de France begins on Saturday July 4 in Barcelona. Read our preview of the top contenders for this year’s maillot jaune here.

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