Antonio Tiberi claimed the first podium of the season for Bahrain Victorious, sprinting to third place at the 2nd Clàssica Camp de Morvedre in Spain, a UCI 1.1 one-day race held over a 164 km hilly course with start and finish in Estivella (Valencia).
The Italian climber was part of the late attackers and made the final selection to reach the finish alongside Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana) and Diego Pescador (Movistar). Scaroni launched the sprint and took the victory ahead of the Spaniard, with Tiberi securing third place.
Bahrain Victorious raced smartly throughout the day, with young rider Bálint Feldhoffer represented in the day’s breakaway. The 20-year-old Hungarian was active in a group of five attackers and also picked up an intermediate sprint at km 59.6 in Estivella.
The demanding parcours, featuring 2,568 metres of elevation gain and the Alto del Garbí climb (5.05 km at an average gradient of 9.2%), tackled three times, proved decisive in favouring the strongest climbers. Once the breakaway was reeled in, the race exploded on the final ascent, where Tiberi, Scaroni and Pescador opened a decisive gap that the chasers were unable to close despite attempts on the descent.
The race marked the European season opener for Bahrain Victorious and the seasonal debut of Antonio Tiberi, who was satisfied with his performance:
“It was a good test to start the season. I felt good on the climbs and the team worked really well all day. In the final, Scaroni was the strongest in the sprint, but I’m happy with third place and with how I felt in my first race of the year. It’s a good base to build on for the next races.”
Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj added:
“We did a good job. The reason we sent Feldhoffer into the breakaway was to survive the first two climbs and to have one rider ahead for positioning at the bottom of the final climb. In the end, he didn’t manage to stay there, but luckily Alec (Segaert) was still with Antonio and did a great job positioning him before the climb. Antonio then followed Astana’s pace and Scaroni’s attack. This morning, we would have been very happy to sign for third place, but when you’re in the fight for victory, finishing third out of three can leave a bit of disappointment.
Antonio isn’t often in this kind of situation, which suited a rider like Scaroni perfectly. He used great tactics, letting Antonio work in the final kilometre while controlling from behind. Antonio isn’t very explosive, so when Scaroni attacked from behind, he couldn’t respond immediately. Still, before the race we would have happily taken a podium. Antonio is in great condition, and if he maintains this form in the upcoming races, we can really look forward to what’s coming.”
