While the WorldTour calendar is underway with the Tour Down Under in Australia, another group of Bahrain Victorious riders are set to begin their 2026 cycling season in Europe. Three races are on the menu this weekend, starting on Friday 23 January with the 2nd Clàssica Camp de Morvedre (UCI 1.1), followed by the 3rd Ruta de la Cerámica – GP Castellón (UCI 1.1) on Saturday 24 January, and concluding with the 42nd Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 (UCI 1.1) on Sunday 25 January.

The Clàssica Camp de Morvedre will mark the seasonal debut of Antonio Tiberi. Intended as an icebreaker for the riders, the Italian climber’s main objective will be to test his condition. He will guide the team over a hilly 164 km course starting and finishing in Estivella (Valencia), featuring 2,568 metres of elevation gain and the Alto del Garbí climb (5.05 km at 9.2% average gradient), to be tackled three times. A key point, as Bahrain Victorious Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj highlighted:

“The race will be decided on the climb we do three times, so we will invest in positioning there. Tiberi will be supported by his teammates all day long, especially at the critical points. The approach to the climb is technical, so it’s crucial to bring and keep our leader safe and well positioned.”

Alongside Alberto Bruttomesso, Roman Ermakov and Mathijs Paasschens, the lineup will include Alec Segaert, who will make his race debut with Bahrain Victorious, as well as two young riders from the Bahrain Victorious Development Team: Thomas Capra and Bálint Feldhoffer.

While the Clàssica Camp de Morvedre will be a first appearance for the team, Bahrain Victorious will return for the following two races, where we also lined up last year. The 3rd Ruta de la Cerámica – GP Castellón (UCI 1.1) on Saturday 24 January will see a few changes to the lineup, with Nikias Arndt, Vlad Van Mechelen and Pau Miquel replacing Bruttomesso, Capra and Tiberi. The Spanish rider Miquel, who finished 7th on this course in 2024, will make his debut in Bahrain Victorious colours. The 171.7 km route runs from Castellón to Onda (Valencia) on a hilly parcours with approximately 2,500 metres of elevation gain spread across three categorised climbs.

The final race of this three-day block is the 42nd Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 (UCI 1.1), taking place on Sunday 25 January, from La Nucia to Valencia over 199.5 km. As usual, the course will feature an alternation of the start and finish towns. This year, the route is selective in the first and middle sections, including well-known climbs such as the famous Col de Rates, before running through a flatter finale towards Valencia.

After skipping GP Castellón, Bruttomesso will return to the lineup for this race. Development Team rider Thomas Capra will also be back at the start. The rest of the lineup remains unchanged from the previous day, with Arndt, Miquel, Paasschens and Van Mechelen, while another Development Team rider, U23 Serbian Champion Mihajlo Stolić, will join the squad.