Poels' trilogy ambitions shattered into thousand pieces: no Giro for him, Bahrain goes for Tiberi and Caruso

In 2023, Poels won a stage in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. That meant he only needed a win in Italy to join the prestigious group of riders. He was well-positioned to do so, given his form — he finished a commendable sixth in the Tour of the Alps — and the number of potential breakaway stages in the race through 'the boot' of Italy. "The team would rather have me prepare for other important races later this year. Unfortunately, but that's also part of professional sports," Poels explained.

"Perhaps the Giro will fit better into my schedule in the coming years," continued the disappointed Dutchman. "I am still on standby, so if something unexpected were to happen to the other riders, I'm ready to step in. It's a long season and I hope I can aim for the Tour." It was unclear after speaking with Poels who else might be considered for Bahrain's Giro selection. The team confirmed its selection on Monday evening through a press release on their official website.

Antonio Tiberi and Damiano Caruso are the leaders for Bahrain Victorious. An Italian duo, aiming for the general classification. Additionally, the team targets stage wins with Phil Bauhaus in the sprints. For these reasons, the team had to strike the right balance, as the press release states. "We don’t want to split our aims too much, so we will try to use other teams’ strengths to our benefit," says team manager Gorazd Stangelj.

"We need to balance the strengths we have with us in Bauhaus on the flat, and Tiberi/Caruso in the mountains. We would like to win stages with Phil and also do well in the general classification. We have the tools and the riders to compete both in the sprint stages and for the overall classification." Apparently, there's no room for Poels in this plan, who would have aimed for mountain stage wins. "We dream about a podium with Antonio or Damiano, but we will have to see how things turn out each day. Anything can happen, and you need to focus from the beginning."

Tiberi is obviously thrilled with his role for the Giro. "This is my first Giro, so as an Italian cyclist I feel like I'm in a dream! I am a proud Italian, and these are the roads of my country, so I am excited and super emotional about being here, as well as very proud that the team have the faith in me to make me a leader. I hope to make the people along the roadside and those watching on TV happy and proud."

Antonio Tiberi
Damiano Caruso
Phil Bahaus
Rainer Kepplinger
Torstein Træen
Andrea Pasqualon
Jasha Sütterlin
Edoardo Zambanini