Colbrelli to step up as Bahrain Victorious sports director but ‘no chance’ of Quintana joining

Bahrain Victorious have confirmed that former Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli will take on more sports director responsibilities in 2024 as he moves away from the ambassador role he accepted post-retirement.

Colbrelli rode for the team between 2017 and 2022 before health problems forced him to retire mid-way through this final season. In 2023 the Italian engaged in light sports director work but that will increase next season with the 33-year-old set to take the UCI’s sports director course and exam later this year.

• Read more: How cycling broke Sonny Colbrelli's heart

“At the moment no one is coming in but Sonny is going to do the UCI course later this month,” team boss Milan Eržen told GCN.

“So he will be more and more involved, especially in the Belgian Classics. So we’ll have about seven or eight sports directors. This year Sonny was an ambassador for the team but we already had him at races because he has huge experience when it comes to Belgium and races like Paris-Roubaix. Next year he will have more involvement. He’s a legend. The young guys could see him on TV and now they get to work with him at the race. That's a huge motivation for the young riders.”

Alberto Volpi, who was a pro rider in the 1980s and 1990s, will step away from his role as a sports director on the team and become the general manager of the JCL Team UKYO in Japan next season.

The rider roster for Bahrain Victorious also appears settled with Eržen confirming that the team will race with 28 riders in 2024. That will not include Nairo Quintana, who has been consistently linked with the team for almost a year.

“We are full and there’s no chance of that,” Eržen said.

“Who is putting out this information and connecting us? I have nothing against Nairo, and I still think that he’s a good rider who can do results but ambience might not be good for him. Really we’ve never talked.”

Mikel Landa has left the team for Soudal QuickStep but rather than replace the Spaniard with a like-for-like GC rider, Eržen has recruited young riders, such as Finlay Pickering from Trinity Racing. The plan is to develop aspiring WorldTour pros, while also supporting the likes of Matej Mohoric, Jack Haig and Wout Poels.

“Now our focus is on young guys for the future and we try to win with these guys. I don’t think investing in older guys is the right way. We have 28 riders for next year and we don’t run a third programme. We’ll do the WorldTour and some preparation races, and that’s it. Jumbo and UAE, these teams are running full third programmes to see who is the best in the world at the end of the year but we focus on the WorldTour,” Eržen said.