Bahrain arrived at the Tour after the hard blow of the loss of Gino Mader, the Swiss rider who died last June in the Tour of Switzerland and who was among the ten possible candidates for the team to be in the Tour. His companions, as they could, they recovered to be at the exit of Bilbao. The main objective was to add a stage to dedicate it to the late Mader and fight for the podium with Mikel Landa, as his director, Xavi Florencio, pointed out at the start of the race. As for partials, they even exceeded expectations. Pello Bilbao, Wout Poels and Matej Mohoric achieved three stages, and in addition Pello was sixth overall, the best in the team. Mikel Landa, far from the target, finished 19th overall.
“The Tour did not go as I wanted. It was not easy and everything failed a bit. The preparation, the wear and tear of the first part of the season… all together caused me not to feel well”, said the man from Vitoria to AS on the Champs Elysees. “Personally no, but the team was super good and I’m happy about it,” he added about the performance of his teammates. His next challenge is the Clásica de San Sebastián on Saturday and, although his team intends to take him to La Vuelta, he still does not think beyond this month. “I prefer to think in the short term and then we will assess how to end the year,” said 33-year-old Mikel.
It is his fourth season with Bahrain, and at the end of the year his contract ends. He’s still far from clear on his fate in 2024, or even if he won’t move. “Obviously, the future is something that worries me. I parked it before the Tour to focus on the race. It is time to assess different things and the next few weeks will be decisive ”, points out the Basque. On the possible continuity of him in Bahrain: “I have to value it. It was a difficult Tour and I need to find motivation.”. August points to an important month to know the future of Mikel Landa.