Pello Bilbao will be able to compete in his last Return to Spain with Bahrain
After losing the Tour de France, the Gernikese cyclist faces his last Lap with special motivation and will help guide the young team for three weeks. "In the end, not having run the Tour has opened the doors for me to make the Vuelta, and I am very motivated," said Bilbao.
Gernikarra cyclist Pello Bilbao. Stock Photo: Europa Press
The Colombian Santiago Buitrago will lead the overall ranking of the Return to Spain in the Bahrain Victorious, but the 81st edition of the Return to Spain, which starts this Saturday, will be more special forthe cyclist Pello Bilbao\u00A0, who will be the last of his career.
The Bahrain Eight will consist of Santiago Buitrago, Pello Bilbao, Matevich Govekar, Pau Miquel, Jakob Omrzel, Attila Valter, Roman Ermakov and Mathijs Paasschens.
Buitrago (Bogotá, 24 years old) will be the team's benchmark for the overall ranking, but as a climber he will also seek stage victories. According to the two-stage winner of the Giro de Italia , "it will be a very hard Lap, with many mountain stages."
The Return will be special for Pello Bilbao, an important cyclist for the team because of his experience on the road. His goal will be to seek victory options in the climbs.
Pello Bilbao, Bahrain Victorius taldeko txirrindularia
I like challenges, and this is a new challenge for me.
After losing the Tour de France, Bilbao faces its last Tour de France with an extra motivation that will help guide the young team for three weeks.
"After these two intense weeks, my last Lapcomes . It's been an unexpected race in my calendar, but a good opportunity. In the end, not having run the Tour has opened the doors for me to do the Tour, and I'm very motivated. It's a race that I haven't run in the last few years, although I ran at the beginning of my career, and I really want to try my head again at home, "said the Gernikarra cyclist.
Bilbao, 36, admits that the team's reference will be Buitrago, but trusts in the level that teams betting on young people can reach.
"I see a young team that is very keen to fight in stages, I would say that most of the runners on the team are making progress and they are ambitious, I like that situation, it's motivating to be part of a young team that wants to break its boundaries, and I'm going to use my experience for the benefit of the team, "he said.
Bilbao has acknowledged that he is not in a position to fight in the overall ranking and that his goal will be stage victory. "He is the only one I need to have stage wins in the three big laps. I am not someone obsessed with palmaris or numbers, but I like challenges, and this is a new challenge for me, "he summed up.
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