Lenny Martinez 4th at Flèche Wallonne

Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS saw two of its riders finish in the top 10 at the semi-classic Flèche Wallonne. Lenny Martinez climbed to a 4th place, and Santiago Buitrago finished close behind in 6th. Two days later, Finlay Pickering made it to the podium at the Tour of the Alps as the winner of the best climber’s jersey.

In the early months of the season, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS got to celebrate some nice successes at shorter stage races. The most notable of these were Santiago Buitrago’s two stage wins and the overall victory at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, the stage win of Lenny Martinez at Paris-Nice, and the 3rd places on GC of Pello Bilbao at the UAE Tour and of Antonio Tiberi at the Irreno Adriatico stage races, respectively. But as far as this spring’s one-day races were concerned, the team was struggling to score any meaningful results, with Pello Bilbao’s 5th place at Strade Bianche and Fred Wright’s 9th place at Paris-Roubaix as the two exceptions worth mentioning. But at the Flèche Wallonne, as the first one-day race held in the Ardennes, the team was racing aggressively and could not be fazed by the nasty, wet and cold weather. Fittingly this was about to be rewarded.

As in most of its editions, Flèche Wallone turned into an uphill sprint for the win on the steep Mur de Huy. But before that, an aggregate 3000 meters of ascending and a bit over 200 kilometres had to be covered. At first, Robert Stannard made it into the breakaway of the day, but the peloton kept this group's lead in check and brought it back when the finale kicked off. As the race approached the Mur de Huy for a final time, both Lenny Martinez and Santiago Buitrago managed to move up in the peloton to tackle the steep final ascent from a favourable position. While nobody could match Tadej Pogacar's brutal acceleration on the steepest ramps, Lenny Martinez had paced himself well on this steep climb. Thus, he passed some rivals and moved up to 4th on the finish line, missing out on a podium result by a few meters. Right in his wake, Santiago Buitrago added a second top 10 result for Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS by crossing the line in 6th.   

Within five days, the Tour of the Alps connected the Southern and the Eastern Tyrolean regions. Each of its five stages was peppered with plenty of steep climbs and ascents. Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS went into this stage race as a final rehearsal for the Giro d'Italia. As last year's 3rd place finisher on GC, Antonio Tiberi was the team's GC captain, supported by strong climbers Damiano Caruso and Afonso Eulalio and young talents Fran Miholjevic, Finlay Pickering and Kasper Borremans. Unfortunately, Tiberi was forced out of the race by gastroenteritis on day 2. As a consequence, Damiano Caruso moved up to the role as the team's captain, and the Sicilian finished the race in 6th on GC after some strong performances. Having made his way into various breakaways throughout the week, Finlay Pickering added more than just a consolation prize by securing the win in the best climber's classification.

RESULTS:
48TH TOUR OF THE ALPS, BEST CLIMBER'S CLASSIFICATION:
1. Finlay Pickering, GBR/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, 34 points
2. Koen Bouwman, NED, 22 points
3. Marco Frigo, ITA, 16 points 

Photos: Sprint Cycling, Screenshot Eurosport