Take the photo of his training in the Fiuggi area in 2020 with the idol Vincenzo Nibali: Antonio Tiberi looks like the younger brother. Same height, 1.82, with a weight of 62 kilos, and therefore we are four-five less than the Sicilian at the highest moment of his career (Tour 2014), but we must consider that the Lazio champion of the Bahrain Victorious team is just 22 years old. Tiberi is ahead of the curve with history: he is racing his first Giro d’Italia, he is the best youngster’s white jersey after the withdrawal of the Belgian Uijtdebroeks and he has the aim of getting on the podium. At 22 years and 11 months, therefore three years before Nibali, who in 2010 came third in the Giro won by Basso at 25 years and six months.
PINK SWEATER DREAM
—
Italy has not worn the pink jersey since May 11, 2021: we were still in the Covid period and runners wearing masks were an everyday image. Sestola, the Bolognese Apennines, the ski slopes where Alberto Tomba grew up: here, after a breakaway in the fourth stage of the Giro, on a cold and rainy day, Alessandro De Marchi achieves the greatest joy of his career at the age of almost 35 and wears the Gazzetta-colored symbol. The Friulian from Buja is the symbol of transparency and honesty: he has never held back to express his opinions, he has never chosen shortcuts to the truth. On road safety, for example, given that he too, unfortunately, had very close encounters with undisciplined motorists, or on very profound issues such as the tragedy of Giulio Regeni, the Friulian researcher tortured and killed in Egypt in 2016. De Marchi is always was tied to that yellow bracelet with the words “Truth for Giulio”. Since that day, 69 stages of the Giro have passed through Sestola and no Italian has ever managed to wear the pink jersey again, just as it has been eight years now, since Nibali 2016, that one of our riders has not won the pink race.
THE FUTURE IS HIS
—
Nibali again, as you can see. And there is precisely this thread that always links Antonio Tiberi to the Shark of Messina. Tiberi can be the Italian future of the grand tours, and we hope so because we need it. He has grown slowly, and has not been exploited at all in the youth categories, even though he is racing in his fifth season as a professional. As a junior, in Harrogate (Great Britain) in 2019, he became world champion in the time trial: in that season he ran for the Ballerini team, in honor of the great Italian coach, the team created by Luca Scinto. The following year he was in the best Italian Under 23 team, Colpack Ballan from Bergamo, the same as the Olympians Ganna and Consonni: there was Covid and Tiberi ran for just 16 days. He contests the Giro Under 23, won by the British Tom Pidcock, and finishes 18th in the standings. He turns professional in 2021 with Trek Segafredo where Nibali is, he runs two editions of the Vuelta (2022 and 2023), in the latter participation he is 18th. Only one victory, so far, as a professional, on May 15, 2022 at the Tour of Hungary, uphill finish, where he precedes the Irishman Dunbar by 2”.
WATCH THE STOPWATCH
—
But he has the class, the climber’s physique as well, above all he is very strong in the time trial, more than Squalo himself, and this skill is fundamental for ranking in the grand tours and gaining an advantage over pure climbers. Tiberi finished 8th at the Tour Down Under in Australia and 7th at the UAE Tour in the Emirates in 2023; 8th in the Tour of Catalonia and 3rd in the Tour of the Alps in 2024. Results that certify his growth, slow but constant. He is a long distance climber, who prefers the use of gears and often accelerates while sitting. He’s not fast in the sprint, but in a small group he doesn’t start out beaten. And then there is the enthusiasm, the smile, a positive way of managing tension, of playing down situations. He is not afraid to take responsibility on his shoulders: on the Prati di Tivo climb, when all the best were close behind the pink Pogacar jersey, almost intimidated and unmotivated, it was Tiberi himself who made two accelerations in the Slovenian’s face. And he also repeats himself on the arrival of Cusano Mutri, in this case well supported by his partner (very precious: they also sleep in the room together) Damiano Caruso.
CARUSO FACTOR
—
Cusano Mutri gains 9″ on Uijtdebroeks, and likes this careful but bold way of pedaling when needed, those glances backwards to see where the pink jersey is, with which he also shares the agents, the Carera brothers. Of course, the Giro d’Italia is not the Vuelta, and facing the pink race as a protagonist, as an Italian, with all the pressure of a result to achieve and the expectations of an entire movement, is very different. Tiberi is racing the Giro for the first time, and for him therefore everything is to be discovered: the tension, the stress, the route, the pitfalls, the pitfalls. The invaluable advantage is having Damiano Caruso at his side, the Sicilian second in 2021 behind Bernal, who has taken him under his wing and allows him to “smell” dangers. Tiberi is liked because he is not afraid of making mistakes: he must dare and exploit his position to make an escape or propose an unexpected attack, seize the opportunity.
Discover Il Ciclista Viaggi, the new Gazzetta dello Sport portal for booking bike trips with itineraries all over the world
PODIUM OBJECTIVE
—
His predisposition for the time trial allowed him to gain in Perugia: sixth at 1’20” from Pogacar. He gave 28” to Dani Martinez, 39” to Geraint Thomas, 46” to Ben O’Connor, 1’29” to Bardet. And on Saturday there is the very flat time trial from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano, 31 km which Tiberi has already gone to study and try twice. Because the time trial is on the eve of the big stage in Livigno, with the Mortirolo and the uphill finish line on the Mottolino ski slope: getting there with a nice chunk of seconds over his rivals would allow Tiberi to manage himself better. And face the last week with more cards to play. Because a place on the podium in Rome would mean a place in the sun for Italy too.
