Mohoric extends with Bahrain Victorious after team confirms list of departures

The Middle Eastern team, which finished 10th in the 2025 UCI rankings, has extended contracts with Mohorič and Caruso alongside Austrian Reiner Kepplinger, Croatian Fran Miholjević, and Australian Robert Stannard.

Mohorič has established himself as one of the team’s star riders after joining in 2018. The Slovenian has gone on to win three stages at the Tour de France and one at the Giro d’Italia, completing the Grand Tour set, as well as WorldTour GC success at the BinckBank Tour in 2018 and Tour de Pologne in 2023. 

However, Mohorič’s crowning achievement came in 2022, when he won Milan-San Remo, courtesy of his daredevil descent of the Poggio. The former gravel world champion’s new deal takes him through until the end of the 2027 season with the team.

Caruso, who has been with the team since 2019, enjoyed the heights of his success in the aforementioned 2021 season, where he finished runner-up at the Giro d’Italia and took a stage win, before adding another stage at the Vuelta a España. However, the veteran Italian has shown that he still can compete with the best after finishing fifth at the Giro d’Italia this year, as well as winning a stage of the Vuelta a Burgos despite being the team's oldest rider at 38 years old.

Stannard joined Bahrain-Victorious in September 2024 after being provisionally suspended in August 2023 for a doping offence dating back to 2018. The 27-year-old Australian formed part of Bahrain-Victorious's Tour de France squad this year and has signed a new deal through 2027.

28-year-old Kepplinger, who made the jump from Continental level to WorldTour when joining in 2023, has extended until 2026. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Croatian talent Miholjević, who made a similar jump, will stay with the team until 2027.

These contract extensions form part of Bahrain's ambition to recapture the heights of their standout 2021 season, when they finished fifth in the UCI team rankings. That year featured Grand Tour podiums from Caruso and Jack Haig, plus Sonny Colbrelli's memorable Paris-Roubaix victory.

The team has also strengthened through the transfer market, confirming the signings of Pau Miquel, Attila Valter and Alec Segaert. Additionally, Alessandro Borgo and Jakob Omrzel have been promoted from the development squad, with Omrzel proving to be a big talent at 19 years old by winning both the 2025 Giro d'Italia Next Gen and the elite Slovenian national championships.

Seven riders will leave the team, including Jack Haig and Torstein Træen. Fred Wright's move to Pinarello-Q36.5 was confirmed in August, while Finlay Pickering has since signed a two-year deal with Australian outfit Jayco AlUla.