Wout Poels leads Bahrain Victorious to the 45th edition of the Tour of Hungary, starting in Karcag on May 8th. The five stage race that concludes in Pécs, features 853.3km of racing over 7,492 vertical meters.

While Poels will be battling it out in the fight for the Yellow Jersey, Bahrain Victorious will be looking for stage wins in the opening two stages that favour the fast men. Dusan Rajovic and Alberto Bruttomesso will be looking for opportunities in the sprint led out by Yukiya Arashiro, Cameron Scott and Lukasz Wiśniowski.

SD Michal Golas believes the make up of the team allows them to remain competitive in the GC and every stage: “We’re heading to Hungary to hunt stages and try to fight for the General Classification as well, having as a clear leader a strong rider like Wout Poels.

Compared to past editions, this year’s course is more challenging and it suits less to the sprinters. The fast men will have a couple of occasions and we will be ready to grab our chances with Rajovic and Bruttomesso. They will count on a strong lead-out, with Scott and Wisniowski. I want Lukasz to work more in front positions in the finale, as I believe he is talented enough to pilot our sprinters perfectly to deliver a successful sprint. I must admit the sprinters’ parterre is excellent and won’t be so easy to compete for a victory. But our guys are motivated and they will try to get the best result possible. With hilly courses and uphill finishes, a rider like Wout can go for a win. We have only 6 riders and may have some more difficulty in controlling the race, but our lineup includes also a very skilled rider like Arashiro, on which you can always count when it comes to giving support in demanding stages.”