Bahrain Victorious’ race-packed spring continues next week, as the Ardennes Classics unfold in Belgium, and the Tour of the Alps traverses the mountain roads across Austria and the autonomous Italian region of Trentino Südtirol/Alto Adige.

Formerly known as the Giro del Trentino, the race evolved into this Euro-regional event in 2017, now part of the UCI ProSeries. It is characterised by short, intense stages, and often chosen by riders as an ideal warm-up for the first Grand Tour of the season, the Giro d’Italia.

The 47th edition of the race will take place from Monday, April 15th to Friday, April 19th, starting from Neumarkt/Egna and finishing in Levico Terme, after five demanding days on challenging terrain.

Bahrain Victorious boasts a strong tradition here, securing either a stage victory or a podium spot every year since 2018. We’ve achieved three stage wins, and have stood on the final GC podium four times. In 2024, our aim is to continue this successful trend, aiming for a stage and vying for the general classification, where we’ve secured second place twice (in 2018 and 2021) and third place twice (in 2019 and 2023).

“An overall victory to complete our podium results at the Tour of the Alps would surpass our expectations,” says Bahrain Victorious Sports Director Franco Pellizotti, “but our riders will give their all to be competitive and achieve the best results possible both on stages and overall.”

“Our youngster Antonio Tiberi will lead the team, with veteran Wout Poels serving as co-leader and road captain,” Pellizotti adds. “Together, they will support each other in pursuit of victory and aim to race strategically for an excellent GC result. Coming off a period at altitude, their primary goal will be to regain their racing form. The Tour of the Alps will serve as a benchmark for them ahead of the Giro, providing an opportunity to test themselves and improve their shape.”

While this edition of the Tour of the Alps doesn’t feature mountain-top finishes, tough climbs near the end could give rise to scenarios favouring either restricted bunch sprints, or breakaway victories. The opening two stages are the perfect examples: The opening day to Kurtinig/Cortina (133,3km) features a double passage of the 4.5km Penone climb with double digit gradients, 16.5km from the finish. Stage 2, the longest of the 2024 edition at 190.7km (Salurn/Salorno > Stans) is very similar to the previous day, and presents a variety of possible storylines. The challenging Gnadenwald ascent comes with 13km to go, and the last 500 metres are uphill to the line.

“We believe these profiles suit Poels well,” comments Pellizotti. “If he manages to stay at the front in the finale, arriving in small groups, we can take advantage of his sprint skills to beat our rivals. From stage 3, the focus will shift more to GC, as the climbing difficulties increase. The Queen stage will be the showdown, but the last day could also shake up the overall standings.”

Stage 3 starts and finishes in Schwaz, Tirol (Austria). It is 124.8 km long, with almost all elevation gained in the final 40 km, featuring a circuit to be repeated twice, which includes two steep climbs: Weerberg and Pillberg.

The ‘Queen stage’ comes on the penultimate day, and sees nearly 4,000 vertical meters and five significant climbs in the 141.3km from Leifers/Laives to Borgo Valsugana.

The final day, a 118.6km loop from and to Levico Terme, may favour courageous attackers, with the most challenging climb, Palù del Fersina (12.5 km at 6.2%), tackled twice on a circuit of about 25 km. The last 1.8 km is uphill in the town centre and promises a dramatic finale.

“In terms of breakaway opportunities, we will count on other athletes in our lineup, such as Finlay Pickering, (a pure climber who finished 4th in the white jersey ranking in this race last year), and Torstein Træen, who finished 2nd on a stage and 10th in the general classification in the last edition,” explains Pellizotti. “Torstein also won the mountain classification in 2022, and our squad is rounded out by Alberto Bruttomesso and Sergio Tu, both making their debut in this race. Their job is to support Antonio & Wout, especially in the flat parts and for positioning.”

Stage 1 of the Tour of the Alps is scheduled for Monday, April 15th, with the official start at 12:00 CET and the finish around 15:15 CET.