Was Antonio Tiberi hospitalized after withdrawing from the Tour of the Alps? Bahrain Victorious reassures fans

Tiberi did not finish the second stage of the Tour of the Alps due to gastrointestinal problems, a worrying sign so close to the Giro, raising questions among many cycling fans. His coach Michele Bartoli gave an update to the Italian media a few days later.

"On Thursday (Tiberi dropped out of the Tour on Tuesday, ed.), he was still in the hospital awaiting further tests. I hope he can get back on the bike Friday, maybe just for a short ride. You can’t really call it training yet, but in a few days, we’ll have the test results and can get back to work properly," Bartoli said at the time.

Vierhouten confirmed that Tiberi had indeed been to the hospital for a type of colonoscopy, but purely as a precaution to rule out any serious stomach or intestinal issues ahead of his main goal of the season. If anything had been found, there would still have been time to address the cause. However, the tests revealed nothing unusual, and Tiberi was able to start the Giro d’Italia on Friday in good form.

In the week leading up to the Giro, Tiberi had already reconned several stages with his trusted teammate Damiano Caruso, showing he was in good shape. In fact, he claimed the Strava KOM on the San Pellegrino, a 13-kilometer climb with an average gradient of nearly 10%, which will feature in stage 11 of the race.