Bahrain Victorious has a strong Grand Tour and stage race roster with Mikel Landa, Wout Poels, and newcomer Jack Haig, but the combined talents of Sonny Colbrelli, Dylan Tuns, and Matej Mohoric cobbled and will also target the Ardennes Classics. The lack of a big-name Classic winner will give them a chance to be leaders.

Poels and Haig are definitely members of the Ardennes Classic, while veterans Marco Haller and Heinrich Haussler, sprinter Phil Bauhaus, and young Englishman Fred Wright are also names to remember in the Classic.

Theunce perfectly reflects the versatility of Bahrain Victorious. He is competitive on the cobbles and in the Ardennes, but tends to be overshadowed by others in Belgium. But he showed what he is capable of by winning the La Planches des Belles Filles stage of the 2019 Tour de France. His palmas include the 2017 Tour de Pollogne, a stage at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné, and a time trial at the 2020 Ruta del Sol.

He was understandably disappointed to be overlooked for a place in last year's Grand Boucle, but clearly showed his pride by finishing 11th in Ghent-Wevelgem and 10th in the Tour of Flanders.

Despite being eliminated from the Tour, Theuns chose to extend his contract with Bahrain rather than go elsewhere, which gave him more opportunities on the cobbles and in the Ardennes Classics.

"My decision was very simple: before Bahrain Victories heads to training camp in Altea, Spain next week, they announced their 2021 lineup and aspirations via Zoom.

"I didn't make it to the Tour de France or the World Championships, but these things happen in cycling. Sometimes you get unlucky.

"Last year was a really good start for me and it was a great sign that I was functioning well in the winter. Then I got away from racing and it was hard to get back into a rhythm again. It was hard to get back into a rhythm again. We did well in the classics, so I'm happy for the winter.

"We've worked really hard over the last two months to get off to a good start. We start the spring with a big block. I was surprised by the way the Classic ran last year and we had a good result.

Tüns will make his 2021 debut at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana before returning to Belgium for the opening weekend of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.

"I'm happy to run the opening weekend in Belgium. Then there's Paris - Nice, Flanders and the Classics, and then the Ardennes. I'll just take a break in early summer," he explained.

Bahrain Victorious will probably target a stage at the Tour de France, but with so many Grand Tour riders on the roster, Tuns knows he will once again face a battle for a place in the eight-rider group.

"I'd like to be in the Grand Tour too, but we'll see what happens," he said, not complaining at the moment.

Mohoric, despite his pedigree as junior and under-23 world champion, winner of the 2018 BinckBank Tour, and fourth in last year's Liege-Bastogne-Liege behind Primoz Roglic, Marc Hirschi, and Tadej Pogacar, is generally much more relaxed.

The 26-year-old Slovenian is considered a big talent, but seems to have a take-it-or-leave-it personality.

"The highlights of 2020 were Milan - San Remo and Liège - Bastogne - Liège.

"I want to go back and start racing again. I will start with the others in Valencia, with Strada Bianche and Milan - San Remo as my main goals. After that, I will race Catalunya and Pais Vasco, then aim for the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He will then compete in the Giro d'Italia to help Mikel Landa in his bid to be selected for the Tour de France.

Colbrelli sacrificed his chances in the Tour de France sprint to help Landa, chewing the bar as Wout Van Aert, Sam Bennett, Peter Sagan, and Caleb Yuan fought for numerous sprint finishes, and he took the role.

Like Theuns, he had many opportunities on the Bahrain Victorious Classical team.

"The Tour of Flanders, of course, and Milan-San Remo are my dreams, but races like the De Brabante Paille, where I finished fourth last year, and of course the World Championships in Leuven are my goals for 2021.

"I intend to do my best for the team, just as I did in the 2020 Tour. I took on a new role in the Tour, helping Mikel, and I felt it was an important role and I want to do it again."