Pello Bilbao and Bahrain's struggle against cycling's 'super teams': "All the big stars want to be there and offer them much more interesting contract

Investing in cycling is on the rise, which is great news for the sport overall. However, this also leads to a significant disparity between the leading teams and the rest. Bahrain - Victorious, for instance, isn't among the elite teams. Pello Bilbao has pointed out that it can be tough competing against teams that have far more resources to develop their squads.

"I have a lot of uncertainties regarding the race calendar, and I guess we'll find out more during the training camp in December. However, I'm not entirely sure about the key events. I really want to make a comeback at the Giro and give it a shot. It's a race I genuinely miss since I've been more focused on the Tour in recent years," Bilbao shared with Marca. This year, the Basque cyclist secured third place at the UAE Tour, finished second (and won a stage) at the Tour of Slovenia, and was runner-up to Tadej Pogacar at the GP de Montréal. It was a respectable season, but his only Grand Tour, the Tour, ended early without any significant achievements.

In 2024, Bilbao is looking at three-week races, although he doesn’t intend to chase the overall title. “I’m interested in participating in the Giro, but at the same time, the Tour de France is the most prestigious event, and the team needs to put forward its strongest roster for that race. As for La Vuelta, I haven’t focused on it much in the past, but I’d like to give it a shot as well, aiming to compete for victory in all three Grand Tours.”

You should also check out Miguel Angel Lopez’s thoughts on “the greatest letdown I’ve experienced in my life” regarding the person who introduced him to Europe and is linked to Operation Ilex.

If Bilbao clinches victory at the Vuelta a España, he would join a select group of cyclists who have accomplished that feat, and it could play a significant role in his 2025 campaign. While his team is relatively secure from facing relegation, they are also quite far from reaching the top-tier squads: “Bahrain has delivered impressive results with a more limited budget. We have to be realistic these days. Competing against teams that pour substantial funds into cycling, like Red Bull, Trek, Ineos, and UAE, is a tough challenge since they operate with a much larger budget.”

"It’s a tough situation since almost all the major players are attracted to those more appealing contract offers. This puts us at a disadvantage. While we’ve performed admirably over the years, it was expected that we might face a downturn, as we did in 2024. The team has brought in Lenny Martínez as a promising new leader for the upcoming season, but overall, it’s a challenging scenario when we think about the key players we’ve lost in recent years."

We've experienced the loss of key figures such as [Mikel] Landa, [Jonathan] Milan, [Gino] Mäder, and [Sonny] Colbrelli. They were significant contributors to our team and it's challenging to find replacements for them. At this point, our leadership options are more restricted, and we need to adapt our strategy. It's unrealistic to aim for a top-five finish among teams. Instead, we should concentrate on targeting individual stages rather than stressing over the overall standings, he added.

You might also want to check out Primoz Roglic's perspective on the possibility of surpassing Tadej Pogacar in the 2025 Tour de France. He mentioned that while he would love to achieve that, he would still be satisfied with his own career accomplishments even if he doesn't. In other news, a Belgian expert has shared intriguing details about Red Bull's contract proposal for Remco Evenepoel, which includes a staggering annual salary of 10 million euros, along with support from three associates, one of whom is team manager Klaas Lodewyck.