Bahrain Victorious celebrated its first victory of the season with an outstanding performance on the queen stage of the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Santiago Buitrago claimed victory on Stage 2 (La Nucia-Alto de Partegat, 166km), finishing 9 seconds ahead of his teammate Pello Bilbao. João Almeida (UAE) completed the podium, finishing 13 seconds behind the winner.
The impressive result achieved by TBV was built in the final section of the race. After the day’s breakaway had been caught with around 25km to go, the team worked well to control an attack by Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) on the penultimate climb. The strong pace caused a decisive selection, allowing Pello Bilbao and Iván Romeo (Movistar) to open a gap before the final ascent. They managed to catch and drop Foss, maintaining an advantage of around 35 seconds over the chasing group.
On the final climb, Alto de Partegat (4.3km at 9.4%), Bilbao distanced his breakaway companion, but Buitrago launched a decisive counterattack, catching Bilbao with 500 metres to go, and riding solo to take his first victory of the season.
Buitrago, who now leads the points classification, expressed his happiness after the team’s fantastic performance:
“Starting the season with a victory is amazing. I’m super happy because this win is really important for me and for the team. It’s our first of the season, and that makes it even more special. The whole team put in an incredible effort, and I’m proud of the work everyone did today. This result gives us confidence for the rest of the season.”
Bilbao, besides securing second place, will wear the KoM jersey in the next stage:
“When a teammate wins, finishing second still feels great. Santiago was strong on the previous climb, and with four of us in the front group, we needed to play our numbers. I saw an opportunity and attacked, quickly opening a 20-second gap. From there, it was about pushing as hard as possible to the finish. Santi was amazing—I couldn’t even follow him at the end!”
Today’s result also moved both Bahrain Victorious riders up in the General Classification: Buitrago now sits in 3rd place, just 5 seconds behind leader Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), while Bilbao is in 4th, 18 seconds back.
TBV Sports Director Roman Kreuziger praised the team’s effort:
“The guys rode an incredible race. They felt strong and were determined to bounce back from yesterday. We were in the mix but needed a big result to stay in the GC fight. Santiago, Pello, Lenny, and the rest of the team executed the plan perfectly. We should be really proud of what we accomplished today. The race is still long, and we remain focused on the GC. What matters is that we’ve achieved our first goal. Now, it’s crucial to maintain the same fighting spirit and approach for the rest of the race.”
With also Lenny Martinez taking a top ten result today, contributing to the lead in the best team classification, Bahrain Victorious heads into the next stages with strong momentum, determined to keep fighting for overall success in the Vuelta Valenciana.
