The 82nd Tour de Pologne was once again a success for Team Bahrain Victorious, as Antonio Tiberi moved up to second overall, making it four GC podiums in the last five editions. The Italian jumped up one place on the final stage, thanks to a strong performance in the conclusive time-trial where he set the 4th fastest time.

This week-long race on the World Tour calendar was even more demanding this year than ever. In seven stages, the riders covered 926.2 km and 15,352 metres in altitude gained. The first stage from Wroclaw to Legnica was more dedicated to the fast men, where young Vlad van Mechelen showed he can compete with the top sprinters in the race and finished 13th. On the second stage there were multiple categorised climbs to overcome, and the GC contenders came into play. Antonio Tiberi took advantage to end the day 5th in the overall classification, 12 seconds behind the leader. The 159.3 km hilly 3rd stage once again showed the dangers of this sport, where several riders – including Jack Haig – went off the road on a dangerous corner. The race was neutralised, meaning that the final 15 km were raced only for the stage and not for the overall classification. That day, Pello Bilbao finished second. Despite a hilly parcours, the 4th stage ended in a sprint and nothing changed in the general classification.

Bahrain raced more as a team each day, and showed themselves to be one of the leading teams in the race, often controlling the pace of the bunch.

The 5th stage ended in the Tatra Mountains, in the famous ski jumping town of Zakopane, after a long 206.1 kilometres. Antonio maintained 4th place in General Classification and the same gap of 12 seconds after the finish. The 6th Queen stage was the most interesting to watch, but the most challenging, as they had to crest a Cat 1 ascent 5 times over. Pello Bilbao took 3rd place, and Tiberi, having received a 2-second bonus during the race, took a tight 3rd place in the General Classification, 20 seconds behind the leader. In the overall standings Pello Bilbao moved up from 11th to 5th, 24 seconds  behind. The stopwatch decided the winner of the Tour de Pologne on the last day. The 12.5 kilometre individual time trial, which started with a slight 2.2 km climb and then mostly downhill to the finish, was decisive for crowning Brandon McNulty (UAD), who also won the stage, ahead of Lorenzo Milesi (MOV) and Matteo Sobrero (RBH). 

Antonio Tiberi was fourth, which put him on the second step of the final podium. The 24 year-old was pleased with his form during the week:

“I have very good feelings, and I’m happy with how I finished this Tour de Pologne. For sure, it boosts my morale ahead of La Vuelta and gives me more certainty about my condition. I’m happy with how my sensations grew day by day. I never held back when it came to making an effort, and whenever I had the legs, I tried to attack. I think this will serve me well ahead of La Vuelta.

I’m very pleased with how the team worked this week. I have to praise everyone here — teammates and staff members — who gave their best from the very first day to support me. They did an excellent job, especially in yesterday’s stage when we knew we had to go for broke. Everybody gave their best, even if some were not at the top of their condition and still suffering from crashes. They believed in me until the end, and the staff members worked for me until late at night. I’m truly grateful for their commitment.”

Sports Director Michal Golaš summed up the race at the end:

“We missed out by just a little bit on the GC victory, but I’m super happy with how the guys worked this week. They did an amazing job — it was truly one of the greatest weeks I’ve had with the team. Everybody deserves a share of this podium, as they worked so hard to achieve it. I think we also deserved a stage win, but McNulty proved today that he was the strongest.

I’m glad that yesterday we really tried to make life hard for him and even tried to drop him. We gave everything, and Antonio performed very well. But, as I’ve said before, the whole team was excellent. It was a great week, with great work and commitment from everyone.”