It certainly wasn't the Tour de France debut that Antonio Tiberi dreamed of. The Bahrain Victorious rider has fought and suffered from day one, yet never found the legs and sensations he was hoping for. With 4 days left in the Grande Boucle, his personal balance sheet cannot be particularly positive, but the race is not over yet. There's a double Alpe d'Huez that tantalizes climbers, and in the final stages the Lazio athlete has appeared to be improving. 

"Morale remains fairly good, even though we didn't start the way we hoped and I hoped - Tiberi admitted -. With slightly cooler days I've felt my sensations improve, so we're holding onto that heading into this finale. After that, we reset and think about the final part of the season".

Yes, because it was precisely the oppressive heat that brought him to his knees over the past month: "This is something we'll need to analyze with the team once the Tour is over - Antonio continued -. Based on what's emerged so far, and also from the feeling I've had, the main reason appears to be the heat itself. Already before the Tour of Switzerland, training at home, I felt I was struggling and suffering greatly from high temperatures, and that's how it's been in the days just before the Tour. I wasn't able to do some training sessions the way I wanted, I tried to get used to it, to acclimatize, but in reality I have the impression that I put even more stress on my body. It's not new, I've always struggled with humid heat - two years ago I withdrew from the Vuelta for the same reason. But beyond hydrating and using ice, it's difficult to do much else".

The regret is even greater because the Tiberi seen at the start of the season was probably the best version of himself ever. Then, however, that brilliance seemed to fade somewhat. "I had a start to the season like I'd never had before, with numbers I'd never seen in that period of the season already in the December and January training camps. We decided to start with the throttle wide open, but perhaps I started too strong and wasn't able to maintain that peak in the races that followed. I hoped to arrive ready for the Tour but, as I said, the feeling is that the heat didn't allow me to recover from the fatigue of the first part of the season. I'm happy with how I started, but it's clear that we have some details to work out to try to have a slightly more regular start to next season".

"Last year I raced little, this year much more - I already have almost 60 race days. Yes, maybe we need to find a balance, there are certainly elements where we can improve heading into the end of the season and next year. There's always something to learn".

With the big mountain stages ahead, though, there's no room for losing focus. "In recent days I've felt myself improving a bit, so I'm trying to look with confidence at these final days of racing - Tiberi concluded -. For us the objective is to support Lenny Martinez, but it wouldn't be bad to manage to get into the breakaway of the day. Both Damiano Caruso and I are feeling better and we really hope to have some great days from here to the finish".