Thursday 20 August - Team Bahrain McLaren athletes will compete in National Championships this weekend in Spain and Italy. 

All the Italian riders of the team – Enrico Battaglin, Eros Capecchi, Damiano Caruso and Sonny Colbrelli - will ride the Road Race on Sunday, August 23, starting in Bassano del Grappa and finishing in Cittadella, after 254km and 11 laps of the final 12,50 km circuit, including the Rosina climb.

Team Bahrain McLaren Sports Director Franco Pellizotti says: “The course can suit sprinters that manage to have still enough energies after repeating several times the climb in the final circuit. A short one and not so hard, but it can be selective taking in many times. For this reason, one of the favourites of the race is our Sonny Colbrelli, who is not a pure sprinter and he already showed to be skilled on a course that is a bit similar to the Belgian classics, including also a pave short stretch of the road. He feels very well and his restart to the season has been excellent so far: not only he took a win, but he also rode a very hard edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné, therefore he’s more than ready for this appointment. We make no secret of our ambition to chase the gold medal”.

In Spain, the National Championships will kick off tomorrow, Friday, August 21, with the Individual Time Trial, from Cazorla to La Iruela (45km). Only Pello Bilbao will take part in it, targeting the podium. 

Team Bahrain McLaren Sports Director Xavier Florencio comments: “We aim to take a medal. Maybe it’s difficult to take the win, but Pello is in great shape and he was on the podium last year, taking the silver medal. The course is demanding, featuring a small climb at the end. It suits him and he’s motivated too”.

On Sunday, August 23, the Spanish Road Race National Championships will be held on a 184km rolling course between Ubeda and Baeza. Ivan Cortina will be our only rider to compete there. SD Florencio says: “He won’t be easy for him, as he won’t have the support of the teammates, as other rivals will have. But he feels good and he has high motivation. Sometimes there are also surprises at the Nationals. Regarding the course, it is a tough one, featuring a 25km circuit, including 500 metres of climbing every lap”.