Bahrain Victorious wins team classification

After three hard weeks, Team Bahrain Victorious was awarded as the winner of the team classification at the 108th Tour de France, getting to celebrate three stage wins on the way. As for the first edition of the Settimana Ciclistica Italiana, the riders in red and black also scored a nice success with Santiago Buitrago winning the KOM classification of the race.

Storm, rain, heat and vertiginous ascents: The 108th edition of the Tour de France threw a lot of challenges at the riders. And the narrow streets in Brittany provoked a number of big crashes right from the start. One of those crashes brought down Jack Haig as the designated GC captain of Team Bahrain Victorious, forcing the Australian to abandon the race early on due to a broken collarbone. In a repeat of what had happened at the Giro d’Italia two months earlier, the riders in red and black would not be discouraged by this loss but instead switched to an attacking style of racing that got them into the right breakaways repeatedly.

Throughout the next two and a half weeks this attacking style of riding was rewarded with three stage wins: Matej Mohoric soloed to wins in two transitional stages with Dylan Teuns winning a tough stage in the Alps, securing the win with a courageous descent in the pouring rain. The battle for the KOM classification also made for great entertainment and sprints on categorized climbs, with Wout Poels only losing the polka dot jersey on the last climb to overall winner Tadej Pogacar. Sonny Colbrelli was scoring points in the intermediate sprints frequently but could not find the pace to compete in the bunch sprints as well. But by finishing two brutal mountain stages in 2nd and 3rd respectively, he still delivered some brilliant performances.

Probably the most valuable success for Team Bahrain Victorious was the win in the team classification. Again the attacking style of racing paid off - as did the width and quality of the line-up that allowed the team to contest for wins without its captain just as much. As the best-placed rider in the overall standings, Pello Bilbai finished the 108th Tour de France in 9th place, with Wout Poels following in 16th and Dylan Teuns in 17th. And as for the price money won throughout the tour, Team Bahrain Victorious als slotted in in 3rd. And on another note, Matej Mohoric was the rider who had spent the most kilometers in breakaways throughout this edition of the Tour de France.

As for the first edition of the Settimana Ciclistica Italiana, a five-stage race held on the island of Sardegna, Team Bahrain Victorious missed out on a stage win. Jonathan Milan got closest when he finished a stage in 2nd in a photo finish, and Mark Padun finished the 4th stage in 5th place. That 4th stage was the most demanding stage of the race, and Colombian climber Santiago Buitrago made good use of these climbs to take over the KOM jersey and defend it on the last day of racing. As for the team classification, Bahrain Victorious finished the race in 2nd.

108TH TOUR DE FRANCE, TEAM CLASSIFICATION:
1. TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, BAH, in 249:16.47 hours
2. EF Education - Nippo, USA, + 19.12 minutes
3. Team Jumbo-Visma, NED, + 1:11.35 hours

CLIMBERS’ CLASSIFICATION:
1. Tadej Pogacar, SLO, 107 points
2. Wout Poels, NED/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, 88 points
3. Jonas Vingegaard, DEN, 82 points

POINTS CLASSIFICATION:
1. Mark Cavendish, GBR, 337 points
2. Michael Matthews, AUS, 291 points
3. Sonny Colbrelli, ITA/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, 227 points

SETTIMANA CICLISTICA ITALIANA, CLIMBERS’ CLASSIFICATION:
1. Santiago Buitrago, COL/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, 34 points
2. Jonas Abrahamsen, NOR, 28 points
3. Simon Pellaud, SUI, 27 points