| BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS TO TOUR OF THE ALPS |
| Team Bahrain Victorious are back in action on Monday 18th April at the 45th edition of the Tour of the Alps. |
| With the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza in Budapest less than 3 weeks away, the race covers the mountainous roads of Trentino, South Tyrol & Tyrol, in both Italy and Austria. |
| TBV are sending a strong squad, including leader Mikel Landa, winner in 2016, and road captain Pello Bilbao, who finished 2nd last year. |
| “This is an important preparation race for the Giro, with very high quality riders,” commented Alberto Volpi, lead Sports Director. “It’s an exciting route, with not a single easy stage” |
| As usual, the stages are relatively short which encourages dramatic racing, and with 13,900 metres of climbing over the 5 days, the battle for the green jersey will be intense from start to finish. |
| Stages 2 & 3 will provide the biggest tests, including the 1st category Passo Furcia on Wednesday, before a 12.5km-ascent to the line at Kals am Grossglockner on stage 4, and a short, nerve-testing final stage on Friday. |
| Two of our riders will be close to home: Edoardo Zambanini who turns 21 on Thursday, hails from the Trentino region, and Austrian Hermann Pernsteiner, who takes the start for the third time. |
| Also in the Alps to support their leader on the climbs will be Columbian Santiago Buitrago, already a stage winner this season at the Saudi Tour, and Slovenian Domen Novak. |
| “We have a very strong team for this kind of race; guys who climb really well,” Volpi adds. “Our objectives are to try to win a stage and to finish on the podium in the GC. I think those are realistic and achievable targets for us.” |
