Bahrain Victorious Team Talk: A year of contrasting emotions

The 2023 campaign was a season of contrasting emotions for the Bahrain Victorious team.

Results-wise, the team prioritised quality over quantity when it came to wins, with six Grand Tour stage victories and a UCI gravel world title thrown in for good measure. Consistency in stage racing, a hallmark of the team over the years, was once again accomplished.

The talismanic Matej Mohorič led from the front with a volley of wins and standout performances, while Santiago Buitrago, Wout Poel, Jonathan Milan, Damiano Caruso and Pello Bilbao all chipped in with vital contributions.

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Bahrain Victorious ride in memory of Gino Mäder

The off-season saw Mikel Landa and Milan leave for pastures new, whilst the team have been unable to recruit like-for-like replacements heading into the new season. Instead, they have focussed on developing young talent, whilst also eeking out the last few drops of success from their veteran line.

Of course, the entire season was overshadowed by the tragic death of Gino Mäder, who, at the age of just 26, lost his life as a result of a crash at the Tour de Suisse in June.

GCN 2023 review

It feels pointless and almost soulless to be reviewing a team’s results after the tragic loss of one of their riders, and there’s no doubt that Mäder’s death leaves an indelible hole in a team in which he was such an important character.

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Gino Mäder died in a crash at the Tour de Suisse in June

His vibrancy and attitude, not just in cycling but the world and environment around him, was a blessing to our sport, whilst the team, and more specifically the riders, deserve respect and compassion for the way in which they paid tribute to their teammate and then raced in his honour. All three Tour de France stage wins in July were dedicated to Mäder by Poels, Bilbao and Mohorič.

It didn’t feel like Bahrain-Victorious won a huge amount in 2023, and their win tally of 20 was relatively modest, but they stood up in the biggest races and delivered. As well as taking stage wins in all three Grand Tours, the team’s consistency once again netted top-10 overall finishes in all three, too.

Outside of the Grand Tours, the team picked up placings and podiums at almost every turn, and, although they only amassed 20 wins on the road, 12 of them were WorldTour, and one of them was a world title. The only blemish in terms of results were perhaps the cobbled Classics, where they’ve still not found a replacement for Sonny Colbrelli. Mohorič was consistent but unable to improve on his third place in Kuurn-Brussel-Kuurne.

Milan and Bauhaus chipped in with wins, and the team came home with the points jersey and overall team classification at the Giro d’Italia.

Read more: UAE Team Emirates Team Talk: A great season but missing a Grand Tour victory

GCN’s rating: 7.5/10

Ins & Outs

This team haven’t signed a proven winner or marquee rider since their 2020 season and the partnership with McLaren. In the years that have followed, the MO has been directed towards filling gaps, picking up bargains, or hunting for talent that hasn’t quite established itself. That worked with signings like Jack Haig and Mäder in 2021 but since then the team have signed just three riders from the WorldTour ranks, with the rest of their recruits have come from the lower divisions or the U23 ranks.

That trend continues into 2024, with just three new faces joining the team. Finlay Pickering arrives from Trinity Racing and looks like a promising talent who will have room to grow. At the same time, Torstein Træen is a solid all-rounder who finished eighth in the Critérium du Dauphiné and completed his first Grand Tour at the Tour de France this year after returning from cancer. Italian sprinter Alberto Bruttomesso has joined from the Continental ranks and will have plenty of chances to shine.

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Mikel Landa chasing the leaders at the Vuelta a España

Overall, though, it’s been an underwhelming transfer window once again. The incomings look especially average compared to the talent that has left the team. Mikel Landa, despite turning 34 later this month, still picks up plenty of UCI points and finished fifth in the Vuelta a España this year, and although losing a veteran who didn’t win a single race in 2023 might not look like a setback, the Spaniard formed part of the team’s bedrock when it came to stage racing dependability.

Filip Maciejuk is a solid domestique who has been picked up by Bora-Hansgrohe, and Milan is a huge loss, both in terms of the immediate future and the long-term. He’s 23 and a proven stage winner in Grand Tours. Heinrich Haussler was forced to stop his career, and although past his best, was still a huge asset in the spring Classics.

Where Bahrain Victorious’ wins will come from in 2024

Without a major league sprinter or a stage racing superstar, it’s hard to see where the consistent stream of victories will come from in 2024.

Instead, Bahrain Victorious will rely on the firepower of Mohorič, who chipped in with seven wins last year to lead the line from January to October. Bilbao should remain dependable in Grand Tours and pick up a top-10 and a couple of victories on his travels, but overall the team will be hoping for another collective approach from within the roster.

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Matej Mohorič celebrates a stage win at the Renewi Tour 2023

Fred Wright is due a big win, or two, whilst Poels will pop up with some fireworks if he’s able to infiltrate the right breaks in Grand Tours. Bauhaus will hope to turn his healthy splattering of placings into more wins but Buitrago could become a genuine linchpin within the team after Grand Tour stage wins in back-to-back seasons and his first top-10 in a three-week race.

This team doesn’t have a 10-win-a-season rider but what it does have is depth and durability. How long that can continue with some of the elder statesmen on the team remains to be seen, but there’s still some untapped potential, with Jack Haig looking to rediscover the form that helped him secure a podium at the Vuelta a couple of years ago.

Read more: Jumbo-Visma Team Talk: What does life after Roglič look like?

Bahrain Victorious’ next breakout rider

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Finlay Pickering riding the Mont Ventoux Denivele Challenge

Finlay Pickering, 20, looks like a real find for the team. The British climber started with the Groupama development programme in 2022 before switching to Trinity Racing at the start of this year and already the youngster has built up an impressive palmarès. A pure climber, he won a stage and the overall at the Tour Alsace in 2022 and at Bahrain Victorious he will have plenty of level-headed experience to guide him into WorldTour stage racing.