Antonio Tiberi came close to podiuming a Grand Tour on multiple occasions, but so far bad luck always stood in his way since his fifth place at 2024 Giro d’Italia. With 2025 Vuelta a Espana almost in sight, the leader of Bahrain – Victorious once again appears to be in great shape at the Tour de Pologne and maybe, finally, he could break through.”I was very unlucky at the Giro,” Tiberi told Domestique about his Giro. “Up until the crash, I was going really well. I was in the position that we had set as our objective, I was third overall, so it was all going really well. But bad luck is just part of this sport, unfortunately.”
The Italian still completed the race, but fell all the way to 17th overall since his crash. “When I got to Rome, there was a bit of regret alright, because without the crash, I think I could have done better. The blow itself and the pain from the crash were a real disadvantage. I felt quite bad after it, but, well, that’s just how this sport works. Now I’ll just look to make up for it in the next races.”
Tiberi took some time off races, but almost exactly two months later, he resumed with Clasica San Sebastian where he crossed the line in 40th place. But at Tour de Pologne he’s already mixing in with the best – great sign for the upcoming Vuelta a Espana.
“I was missing a bit of race rhythm, but the sensations were still good in San Sebastián, I was maybe just missing a bit in the last kilometres,” Tiberi said. “But here in Poland, I’ve come through the first few stages ok and that’s helped me physically too.”
Clearly, it’s a well-tested formula that does wonders for the 24-year-old. “I had the same approach last year, in that I had a break after the Giro and then I came back to racing in August.”
“Last year, I did Burgos, this year we opted for Poland instead, but the approach is very similar to last year because that worked out well. But obviously, we’ll just hope that it doesn’t turn out to be quite as hot at the Vuelta…”
Starting in Italy this year, Vuelta will feel like a home race to Tiberi from the first day. Last year, things didn’t quite work out for in Spain when had to abandon the race from 4th overall at the end of first week. This time, he doesn’t set a fixed goal: “I don’t have a precise target in mind. I’ll simply try to aim for the highest result possible,” he concluded.