It’s a week packed with races for Bahrain Victorious, who will be in action in Spain, Benelux, and starting tomorrow in Germany, at the Deutschland Tour.
This will be the 5th edition of the UCI pro series race’s new format and runs from August 23rd to 27th, starting with a short time-trial prologue on Wednesday in St. Wendel. The 4 remaining stages cross from the west of the country to the north, finishing in Bremen.
“Compared to last year’s edition, the race changes character, as there isn’t a long climb to face. It’s more about classic stages with a punchy finish and sprint stages. We selected a lineup suited and prepared for that,” Bahrain Victorious SD Enrico Poitscke explains. “We are here with a strong team. In 2022, with Pello Bilbao, we won a stage and finished second in GC. Hopefully, this year, we will get a similar result with the Basque rider, our leader for the general classification. The race starts with a prologue, on which Bilbao and Arndt are fully focused, as the overall ranking could be decided by bonus seconds.”
Bahrain Victorious will contest the sprints with Phil Bauhaus, who is back to racing after the Tour de France: “I was a bit struggling with my health during the last few weeks, but now I recovered, and I’m feeling good again. The race is in my home country, and it’s the only stage race for the elite in Germany. Therefore I’m extra motivated to do well and get an excellent result.”
The German sprinter will have as lead-out men the above-mentioned Nikias Arndt (also racing at home) and Cameron Scott. In ‘domestique’ roles, Yukiya Arashiro and Rainer Kepplinger complete the 6-man lineup, and for the Austrian, there is also the possibility to play stage-hunter.
The goal is to continue the victorious tradition that our team has in this race. In 2018, Matej Mohorič won the overall, the points jersey, and the youth classification, with a stage victory and a couple of podiums. The following year it was Sonny Colbrelli’s chance to shine in Germany: second on GC and the points jersey, after a stage win and two podium places. In 2021 we were the best team, while in the last edition, Bahrain Victorious were at the forefront again, with Pello Bilbao finishing second overall and winning the points classification. He also won the final stage and was second on stage 3.
“I have good memories of my first time at the Deutschland Tour 2022, and now I’m looking forward to riding it again,” the Basque rider comments. “I don’t know if I will be 100% after the rest period following the Tour de France and easy training before the return to races, but I feel fresh and would like to do well. Even if I’m not 100%, I can be helpful to the team. Talking about the race, I think a few seconds gap will decide the GC ranking, and it will be an exciting race where small details will count in the end. We will also have a couple of German riders, like Nikias Arndt, who can be good in GC and Phil Bauhaus for the sprinters stages. For sure, every day, we will be in the game.”
