Pero Bilbao extended his contract with Bahrain Victorious through 2026, a day after his emotional victory on stage 10 of the Tour de France.

The Basque rider dedicated his first Tour de France victory to teammate and friend Gino Mader, who died last month in the Tour de Suisse.

Bilbao has been racing for Bahrain Victorious since 2020 and has won three WorldTour races in that time, including two fifth-place finishes overall at the Giro d'Italia and ninth at the 2021 Tour.

"I am delighted to extend my contract with Team Bahrain Victorious. Over the past few years I have felt part of this family. I am in a place where I have the full support of my teammates and staff and I look forward to contributing to the future success of the team."

Bilbao was part of a large breakaway group that took his first Tour stage win on one of the toughest days of the Tour de France, as non-stop racing took place in 40-degree heat in central France.

Christo Neerlands (Israel-Premier Tech) attacked from Bilbao and the rest of the breakaway group after Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech) led out, and it looked as if he was going to break away, but Bilbao and Georg Zimmermann ( Intermarché Circus Wanty) led a group that reeled him in with 3.5km to go.

Neerlands was one of the first breakaway set-ups and was incredibly strong throughout the stage, but ran out of steam on the final run to Issoire and barely managed to finish in fourth place as Bilbao outran the remaining riders from the breakaway.

The Latvian took home the extra prize of the Combat Award and, despite missing out on the win this time, proved that he was more than capable of winning at the World Tour level, signing a three-year contract extension with Israel Premier Tech. It was an easy decision to sign another contract. I feel really good with this team. I don't know how it is with other teams, but here it feels like one big family. I just want to continue this journey with this team."

"We've already accomplished a lot, but we still have a lot to accomplish together, so I just want to keep growing with IPT and keep chasing my dreams."

The 28-year-old has won the Grand Prix Walloni, Tour de Hongri, and Latvian National Championships, all with Israeli teams.

This will not be the last time we see Kneeland break in the Tour, and his team is happy to reward him for his hard work and talent.

"The announcement of Christo's contract renewal came after his amazing run in the Tour. 'We are very sorry for Christo, but at the same time we are extremely proud of his efforts and his riding. We hope Christo will win the Tour again this year."