With the Giro d’Italia a little over three weeks away, the Tour of the Alps – often regarded as the main lead-up event – gets underway in Austria on Monday. Team Bahrain Victorious arrive with an impressive recent record in the race. Pello Bilbao has three stage wins, and was 2nd & 4th overall in the two previous editions. Before that the team also finished on the podium in 2018 & 2019.
As always, the route is mountainous from the start, and will see the riders complete more than 15,000m of vertical ascent in 753km over the five days. Stage 3 will potentially be the hardest, ending with a summit finish on the 1st category climb to San Valentino di Brentonico (15.2k averaging 7.6% gradient).
Lead Sports Director is Gorazd Štangelj, who explains,
“Many of the riders on the startlist will most likely be at the Giro so there are some strong teams.
We know that of the five stages, the first three will be GC days, and the other two more like breakaway stages. The climbs are steep and long, but there are many other things in the race to consider.”
The Tour of the Alps takes in three regions: Trentino, Südtirol/Alto Adige, and Tyrol, which hosts this year’s opening day, a short 127kms between Rattenberg & Alpbach. There are two categorised climbs in the second half of the stage and a hilltop finish, all of which should create some time gaps between the GC hopefuls.
Leading the Bahrain team will be Australian Jack Haig and our Columbian climber Santiago Buitrago.
“Our idea is for Jack and Santi to find some condition after coming back from altitude camp,” explains Štangelj. “We have Jack as leader and road captain, and Santiago as co-leader, even though the race might suit Santi better. But it’s not just about watts per kilo!”
On Tuesday the peloton cross from Austria into Italy, on a hilly second stage with a short, steep ramp to the line in Ritten/Renon.
Stages 3 & 4 will be the most demanding tests for the climbers. After spending Wednesday in the high mountains, there is no respite on Thursday. Stage 4 starts from Rovereto with an ascent of the formidable cat 1 Passo Sommo, 15.7k at 7.3%. It will provide an opportunity for the GC contenders to make their moves, and kicks off a day with upwards of 4000m elevation gained in the 153kms to Pedrazzo.
The team selection has been made with the Giro in mind, says Štangelj, as well as giving us what we need for the race itself:
“We have four riders on the long list for Giro: Jack and Santi, Jasha Sütterlin, for support on the flat sections, and Edoardo Zambanini.
With them here is Hermann Pernsteiner, who will provide support in the mountains along with Edoardo, as well as looking for breakaway opportunities.
Completing the team is our new signing, Nicolò Buratti. The goal for him is just to be involved as much as possible and to experience riding at World Tour level for the first time.”
It’s uphill from the off again on the final stage, which starts in the tourist hotspot of Cavalese, and goes immediately up another 1st category test: the Passo Lavazé. Expect more action on the final mountain of this year’s race, the Mulbach, which crests 20km from the line in Bruneck/Brunico.
The 46th edition of the Tour of the Alps (called The Giro del Trentino until 2016) passes through some of the most spectacular and beautiful scenery in cycling, and promises to be, once again, a feast for the eyes as well as a fantastic race.
For Bahrain Victorious, Štangelj says, it provides an opportunity for the riders to bond as a team with the first Grand Tour of the season around the corner.
We’re looking to build confidence and team spirit looking towards the Giro d’Italia, and especially that the riders start to understand one another in certain race situations. Of course our goals are also to win a stage and fight for the podium on GC.
