For much of Tuesday’s Tour of the Alps, it looked like the breakthrough would continue to the finish.
Ten riders made it to the first ascent of the day, which started almost from the start of the stage in San Martino di Castroza.The group includes big-name hitters like Pavel Sivakov, Miguel Ángel López and Michael Storer.In fact, Storer and Sivakov stayed away until 10 kilometers away, when they finally descended to Lana when they were swept up by the rushing force.
Not that the day’s eventual winner, Pelo Bilbao, was overly concerned.He and his Bahrain victorious team know they have what it takes to get ahead of the leaders.
“We knew the stage at the beginning was going to be tougher than at the end, but we didn’t expect such a big move at the beginning,” Bilbao said after the game. “We were patient, we were confident about it. Maybe very It’s hard to believe we’ll catch up, but we just rode at a good pace and every rider did their best.
“From start to finish, it’s impressive to see four Bahrain victorious drivers finish in such a small group. They still have good legs and put me in a good position for the sprint.”
As a result, the Basque rider climbed onto the leader’s jersey.The last two editions were won by the riders who won the second stage of this race; Sivakov in 2019 and Simon Yates in 2021, but Bilbao didn’t think that far.
Instead, he’s enjoying the win because it’s delivered by the team, which makes it all the sweeter.
“We showed strength, but there were also two days where we spent a lot of energy, and there are three big days to come,” he said.”Every day we play like a classic, fighting for stage wins.
“I’m very proud of this win today and enjoy it in a special way when we show that cycling is a team sport. Without the team, all six riders, I couldn’t have gotten here.”
When asked if the 32-year-old Bilbao is the best Bilbao we’ve seen so far, the Bahrain rider replied “maybe” it’s the best form he’s ever been.
“I think I’ve been making steady progress over the years, I’ve grown year by year,” he said.”Maybe yes, it’s the best body I’ve ever had.”
Bahrain-Victorious’s Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago rounded out the top 10 overall, with Mikel Landa and Herman Pernsteiner just behind.
“All in all, my teammates are happy to help and I’m happy to help them,” Bilbao said.”One day, I’ll be working for someone else, and I won’t hold back.”
As for the future, Bilbao admits that it would be a “dream” to wear the maglia rosa in the Giro d’Italia.Quite modestly, he said he was just a “good average rider”.
“I’ve been racing the Giro for the past few years and it’s a race I loved but didn’t make it to,” he said, even though he has won two stages and finished eighth.
“As a rider, I’m not sure it’s going to be that easy because I’m not the strongest, I’m not the strongest climber. I’m a good average rider, but I don’t think it’s that easy in the first place. No Easy, but not impossible.”
As we saw on Tuesday, if Bilbao maintains his impressive form on the mountain stages, it will be easier for Bahrain Victory to power behind him and make it easier for those dreams to come true real.For now, though, there are more climbs in question this week.
“The next three stages are going to get harder and harder,” Bilbao said.”The Ineos are definitely going to be very dangerous and they’ve shown they can ride aggressively this season.”
Hi, I’m a digital staff writer for Cycling Weekly.I like to pretend to be part of the history of great cycling writing and generally act like a pseudo-intellectual.
Before joining the team here, I wrote for Procycling for nearly two years, interviewing riders and writing about racing.My favorite activity is Strade Bianche, but I haven’t quite gotten to Piazza del Campo yet.
Before covering cycling, I wrote about church affairs for Church Times and politics for Business Insider.I have degrees in history and journalism.
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Post time: Apr-21-2022