Bahrain Victorious's Corsa Rosa underwent a major shakeup in the final week of the race. The boys led by Franco Pellizotti they had left from Albania resting their hopes on the young shoulders of Antonio Tiberi, building on last year's fifth-place finish. As the days passed, the race became increasingly difficult to manage due to the many stressful moments. It was precisely one of these turbulent circumstances that led to the fall of Antonio Tiberi in the Gorizia stage.. From there the Tour of Italy of the team Bahrain Victorious it has changed and the captain's rank has passed onto the shoulders of the more experienced Damiano CarusoThe Sicilian was able to reap what he sowed and complete a Giro d'Italia in which he demonstrated, if there was any need, his great qualities.
«On the run – says Franco Pellizotti – the captain has always been Caruso, while the leader was TiberiWe worked like this last year too. Once that Tiberius has fallen all responsibilities have passed to Caruso."
Recovery
Pellizotti analyzes and explains, while in the background you can hear a lot of scrubbing and brushing. The sports director is washing his daughter's bike. Giorgia, who will be racing in a mountain bike race tomorrow and in this case too we have to be ready.
"Once I got out of the team car," he continues, "I put aside my job as sports director and devoted myself to my dad's work. It doesn't matter if a bike is always involved. Today (Friday, for those reading this, ed.) Giorgia has her last day of school and tomorrow she'll be racing. From a race like the Giro you come home tired, but you have to make up for lost time with your family. Also because I'm leaving again next Friday: direction Tour de Suisse».
Let's go back to the Giro, you started with great ambitions...
True. With Tiberi, the goal was to reach the podium and try to win a stage, but then the crash in Gorizia put a stop to everything. Luckily Caruso took the chestnuts out of the fire for us by winning an excellent fifth placeOur striker was Tiberi, but Caruso had shown he was fine.
How was the Sicilian's Giro set up?
When Caruso is in good condition, he is incapable of letting himself be overtaken and dropped down the rankings; it's not part of his character. He himself was aware of his state of formIt was a strange Giro d'Italia, the first real uphill finish came at the beginning of the third week. Only then did we realize the real forces at play..
After the fall of Gorizia, was there ever a thought of stopping Tiberius?
No. He took a big hit, but his path to the Giro wasn't at risk. We had Caruso in the standings and it was right that Tiberi stayed in the running to give his contributionWhen Antonio joined our team, he was immediately promoted to leader, but for a young guy like him, it was right to have this kind of experience too. It's one thing to be a leader, it's another to be able to act as a follower..
Can you explain further?
He has never held this role in the past, but if he wants to become a rider capable of taking care of the classification 100 percent it is a fundamental partIn the two Giro d'Italias he rode with us, Tiberi was always the leader, but Caruso always played the role of captain.
What changes?
That Caruso was responsible for leading the team, talking to the flagship, and using the radio. Tiberi, on the other hand, only had to worry about going fastIn this last week of the Giro I saw Antonio change his attitude.
In what sense?
I saw him more present in the race, he often spoke on the radio, communicating with his teammates when a breakaway was created. In short, he became aware that there is also the aspect of managing the raceHaving a rider like Caruso alongside him certainly helped him understand how it's done.
The result was missing but it was still an important Giro…
For these reasons, I believe that finishing this race was crucial for Tiberi. He saw and put into practice new aspects.
Shall we also say a few words about Caruso?
What can I say, he had a great Giro d'Italia. We know his qualities well, which led him to be one of the strongest cross-country riders. He had a difficult 2024 and was very eager to get back to doing wellHe took care of several aspects and worked even harder. After last season he also had thought about quitting, so he had left for this 2025 with the aim of wanting to finish his career well.
And instead he extended it for another year.
Al Tour of the Alps He'd already mentioned something about it to me. We'd said we'd wait for the Giro. Luckily for us he will be running with us for another seasonI believe 2026 could be a pivotal year for our team, but we're in no rush. The Vuelta comes first, and both Tiberi and Caruso will be there ready to go.
