Bahrain Victorious claimed a first podium of the week at the Vuelta a Burgos, the 5-day stage race currently underway in Spain.

This brilliant result was achieved by Antonio Tiberi on stage 4, an individual time trial from Santa María del Campo to Pampliega, covering a pan-flat 18.5 km.

The Italian, who was among the pre-race favourites, delivered a solid performance, clocking 9’14” at the intermediate checkpoint and finishing with a time of 20’04”33 (an average speed of 55.3 km/h). His strong effort secured him the third-fastest time, just 13 seconds behind stage winner, Jay Vine (UAE), and 1 second behind Edoardo Affini (TVL), who finished second.

With today’s result, the 23-year-old maintained his 100% record of finishing in the top ten in every time trial in which he has competed this season (5/5).

“I’m happy with this third place, especially because it boosts my confidence ahead of the opening time trial at La Vuelta,” said Tiberi. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to achieve this result. I wanted to do well, but I felt that my legs were not yet at 100%. I was curious to see how I would perform since my last time trial and effort over 20 km was at the Giro. So, this was the first real test after a long time and the last crucial one before La Vuelta. I must say the sensations are improving day by day, and so is my condition. I’m pleased because I felt much better today than I did yesterday when I struggled with the heat. This result gives me a lot of confidence, and I believe I’ll start the next Grand Tour in a good condition.”

Bahrain Victorious Sports Director Neil Stephens also considers this an excellent test ahead of the year’s third Grand Tour:

“It was an important test for Antonio to assess how his form is before La Vuelta. Yesterday, he underperformed on the mountain stage, so we really wanted to have a technical and physical test in the time trial to see if we were close to the mark. The time trial confirmed that he is getting there. There are still a couple of things to work on, but he’s close to his best at the moment. We’re happy with the 3rd place, and Antonio was one of the best General Classification riders of the day, so this result restores our confidence as we continue working towards La Vuelta. We know now that we’re in the ballpark.”

Today’s strong result comes as a boost after the misfortune of losing road captain Damiano Caruso, who abandoned the race following a massive crash with 34 km to go on stage 2.

The Vuelta a Burgos will conclude tomorrow with stage 5 (Frías-Treviño, 156 km), which is expected one for the sprinters. Bahrain Victorious will rely on Matevz Govekar, who narrowly missed out on the top 10 on the opening stage and finished 12th the following day.