Bahrain-Victorious, an Italian rookie among the eight for the Vuelta

First participation in a grand tour for Edoardo Zambanini

Bahrain-Victorious made official on Wednesday the list of eight cyclists who will defend the team’s colors at the Vuelta 2022, which will start next Aug. 19 outside the Netherlands (team time trial in Utrecht), before reaching Spain on Aug. 23. The final stage is the Madrid catwalk on Sept. 11.

Among the names selected is an Italian, 21-year-old Edoardo Zambanini, who will participate in a major stage race for the first time in his career. The native of Riva del Garda will ride in support of team captains Mikael Landa and Gino Mäder (both of whom are racing with the goal of making the podium), along with fellow teammates Santiago Buitrago, Wout Poels, Luis Leon Sanchez, Jasha Sütterlin and Fred Wright.

“I think ours is a great team for this kind of course,” Franco Pellizotti, sport director of Bahrain-Victorious, told official team channels. “I am convinced we can get a good result in the general classification. As for the individual stages, we will have many cards to play.”