As the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana draws to a close for another year, Bahrain Victorious can be auspicious about their week spent in Eastern Spain. With multiple top 10 finishes across the five stages, there is enough to lend optimism as we move into the coming weeks of Grand Tours.

In stage one, Luis León Sánchez on his debut with Bahrain Victorious, attained a fourth place with teammate and co-leader Matej Mohorič earning ninth. As we moved into stage two and the region of Betera, Mohorič showcased his talents to take home fourth.

The Queen stage followed and Pello Bilbao was able to excel expectations in collecting a top-5 finish, navigating the various category 2 and 3 ascents – including Alto Antenas del Maigmó Tibi, a gravel surface that was new to the race this season.

In the final stage, the riders were tasked with completing a 92km loop around the ‘comunidad autónoma’ of Valencia with an expectation that there would be a bunch finish, and the outcome didn’t differ. The peloton constantly played ‘cat and mouse’ with the breakaway group throughout, keeping the gap under a minute long for large amounts of the race. Ultimately, Aleksandr Vlasov of Bora-Hansgrohe came out on top in the general classification whilst Luis León Sánchez finished seventh overall.

Neil Stephens, Sports Director, gives his verdict on the week overall: “It’s been a great week here in Valencia. Perhaps we didn’t get the stage win we were looked for but really happy with the form of the guys, they trained really hard. They’ve come through this race well and all signs are that it’s going to go even better in the future!”