Bahrain Victorious dominates in Valencia at 6.78 watts per kilogram! "This gives us confidence for the rest of the season"

Bahrain Victorious put on an incredible display in Stage 2 of the Tour of Valencia on Thursday. On the Alto de Partegat (4.3 km at 9.4%), Santiago Buitrago and Pello Bilbao dropped all the other favorites, securing a dominant one-two finish. Lenny Martinez also finished ninth. A statement performance? Absolutely.

Buitrago and Bilbao pulled away together, but when it came down to the final showdown, the 25-year-old Colombian was nine seconds faster. Bilbao, in turn, crossed the line four seconds ahead of João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). “When a teammate wins and you take second, it feels amazing,” Bilbao said via Bahrain Victorious' official channels.

The experienced Spaniard had already stated during the offseason that Bahrain Victorious was determined to bounce back after a tough year—and they wasted no time, delivering on the first serious mountain finish of the season. “Santiago was strong on the previous climb, and with four of us in the front group, we had to play our numbers. I saw an opportunity to attack and quickly gained 20 seconds. From there, it was full gas to the finish. Santiago was unbelievable—I couldn’t hold his wheel at the end.”

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Buitrago climbed at 6.78 watts per kilogram in Valencia

In the general classification, Buitrago and Bilbao have now moved up to third and fourth, trailing race leader Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) by five and eighteen seconds, respectively. Bahrain Victorious (what's in the name) was thrilled with the performance, as team director Roman Kreuziger explained: “The guys rode brilliantly. They felt strong and were determined to strike back after the team time trial on day one. Santiago, Pello, and Lenny executed the plan perfectly—we can be proud of that.”

What’s even more impressive is how they won. Data analysts at Watts in Cycling calculated on X (formerly Twitter) that Buitrago powered up the final climb at a staggering 6.78 watts per kilogram. Those are elite numbers. “Starting the season with a win is always great. I’m super happy because this victory means a lot to me and the team. Everyone worked incredibly hard, so I’m proud of them. This result gives us confidence for the rest of the season.”

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Vacek remains leader in Valencia, but Almeida is also lurking

After Lidl-Trek’s impressive team time trial on day one, Mathias Vacek barely held onto his leader’s jersey. The 22-year-old Czech fought hard in a stage that didn’t necessarily suit him. “We knew I had to dig deep today—really deep. We wanted to keep the jersey, and I just managed to pull it off by a few seconds,” he said with a smile in a press release. “That was the goal today, and the team did a fantastic job keeping me at the front and pushing the pace.”

Vacek still has three tough stages ahead in Valencia, but he’s determined to fight for the overall win. However, his gap over second-place João Almeida is now just two seconds. The UAE Team Emirates rider can be satisfied with that, despite being dropped by Bahrain Victorious in the battle for the stage win. “It’s disappointing to miss out on the stage victory, but the guys were impressive. We had to push a high tempo, and once I found my rhythm, I was riding really strong. That makes me optimistic for the next stages,” Almeida said confidently.

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