Bahrain Victorious claimed a brilliant victory at the Trofeo Laigueglia (1.Pro) in Italy, with Santiago Buitrago delivering an impressive solo win and Antonio Tiberi securing third place on the podium after being outsprinted by Romain Grégoire (Groupama–FDJ) for second.
As anticipated, the race was decided on the final circuit. The last survivor of the early breakaway, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step), remained off the front for nearly 70 kilometres, entering the first lap alone. However, on the first ascent of Colla Micheri – the decisive climb repeated three times – the race exploded.
Bahrain Victorious ignited the action, launching Buitrago and Tiberi into an attack, immediately followed by Grégoire and Quinten Hermans (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team). The quartet caught Vervaeke near the second ascent of Colla Micheri, around 20 km from the finish, before another acceleration distanced Hermans.
At the front, only Buitrago, Tiberi and Grégoire remained. On the third and final ascent of Colla Micheri, Buitrago made his decisive move, dropping his companions and proving to be the strongest rider of the day. Behind him, Tiberi marked Grégoire, who briefly attempted to respond before settling for a sprint into second place. The Frenchman edged Tiberi in the two-up sprint, 25 seconds behind the flying Colombian.
The victory marks Buitrago’s first win of the season.
“I’m very happy to take this first victory so early in the season, and even more so because it comes here in Liguria, where I lived in 2019,” said Buitrago. “It’s special to win here. We raced very well as a team, very intelligently, and it’s great to also have Antonio on the podium in third place. The whole team did a great job controlling the race.
In the final, Antonio and I decided to anticipate because we knew Grégoire was very fast in a sprint. On the last climb, we made the difference. Now my next target is Tirreno–Adriatico.”
Bahrain Victorious returned to the Italian one-day race with clear ambitions and controlled the race from the early stages, working for leaders Tiberi and Buitrago on the demanding 192 km course. The 63rd edition featured a new start in Albenga, included the iconic Cipressa climb and a 12.6 km stretch of the Cycling Riviera – Ciclovia Riviera dei Fiori, before the traditional and decisive Colla Micheri circuit and finish in Laigueglia.
Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj reflected on the performance:
“The plan was to reach the final circuit and decide the race there. We wanted to ride the first lap attentively, but the riders were feeling strong and chose to be aggressive earlier. They attacked immediately with Grégoire and managed to maintain around a 30-second advantage over the chasing group, which was never able to close the gap.
On the final lap, Santi went solo, while Antonio stayed with Grégoire to fight for the remaining podium places. Even on the flat run-in to the finish, Santi pushed hard to maintain his advantage. We didn’t predetermine who would go for the win and both were leaders today. The riders communicated well and executed the plan perfectly.”
A dominant display from Bahrain Victorious delivers not only victory, but a double podium presence to open the Italian racing block in the best possible way.
