On the podium in Italy and Croatia

As the cycling season nears its end, Team Bahrain Victorious has been competing in both stage races and one-day races with quite some success. Edoardo Zambanini finished the CRO Race in 2nd on GC, with Jakob Omrzel winning the young riders classification and the win in the team classification as a bonus. Meanwhile, Lenny Martinez made it to the podium in 3rd against strong competition at the Giro dell’Emilia.

Following Torstein Traeen’s sensational top 10 result on GC at the Vuelta a España and a win in the team classification at the Tour of Britain, Team Bahrain Victorious headed for more late-season races in the Mediterranean. The six-stage CRO Race in Croatia saw Damiano Caruso returning from an untimely injury as the road captain of a team that packed a lot of talent in support of Edoardo Zambanini on GC and young Zak Erzen for sprint finishes. Fran Miholjevic got to race on home roads, with Vlad van Mechelen, Max van der Meulen and Jakob Omrzel completing the team’s line-up. While four stages were clear-cut for sprinters, one packed a more demanding finale, and the Queen’s stage presented a true test for climbers.

After a week of racing, Team Bahrain Victorious may have missed out on a stage win in Croatia, but its riders finished in the top 10 in all but one stage. While young Zak Erzen racked up two top 10 results in bunch sprints, Edoardo Zambanini scored a 4th place and two 2nd place finishes, one in a bunch sprint and the other at the end of the race's Queen’s stage. That was good enough to finish the one-week stage race in 2nd on GC. Thanks to consistently strong performances throughout the week, Jakob Omrzel won the young riders classification, and Team Bahrain Victorious was crowned as the best team following the soaking wet concluding stage into Zagreb. Thus, the CRO Race was quite a success for the team.   

At the Giro dell’Emilia one-day race in Northern Italy, Team Bahrain Victorious was aiming for a top5 result with an impressive line-up. Lenny Martinez and Antonio Tiberi were accompanied by the likes of Pello Bilbao, Afonso Eulalio, Torstein Traeen, Robert Stannard and Nicolo Buratti. At the end of the penultimate lap, Lenny Martinez joined a late attack that was brought back. The French climber still had enough energy left to win the sprint for 3rd and the last podium spot against some big names. As sports director Roman Kreuziger pointed out, this promising start to the Italian one-day races in the fall serves as a big confidence boost for Team Bahrain Victorious. Let's see if the riders can follow up on this in the days to come.

10TH CRO RACE: GENERAL CLASSIFICATION, FINAL STANDINGS:
1. Brandon McNulty, USA, in 19:45.16 hours
2. Edoardo Zambanini, ITA/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, + 1.39
3. Michal Kwiatkowski, POL, + 1.49

YOUNG RIDERS CLASSIFICATION:
1. Jakob Omrzel, SVN/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, in 19:47.50 hours
2. Alexander Hajek, AUT, st
3. Emil Herzog, GER, + 0.09

TEAM CLASSIFICATION:
1. TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, BHR, in 59:24.02 hours
2. UAE Team Emirates - XRG, UAE, + 1.24
3. Caja Rural - Seguros RGA, ESP, + 1.42
  
108TH GIRO DELL’EMILIA: MIRANDOLA - SAN LUCA, 199.2KM
1. Isaac del Toro, MEX, in 4:46.10 hours
2. Thomas Pidcock, GBR, + 0.01
3. Lenny Martinez, FRA/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, + 0.05

Photos: Sprint Cycling Agency