Eulálio Keeps Maglia Rosa Ahead of Rest Day
# Eulálio Maintains Maglia Rosa as Giro d’Italia Heads into Rest Day
Afonso Eulálio successfully defended the coveted Maglia Rosa after Stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia, finishing fifth on the challenging ascent to Corno alle Scale. The Bahrain Victorious rider also retained the Maglia Bianca, marking a strong performance at the conclusion of the first week of racing.
The 184km stage, which stretched from Cervia to Corno alle Scale, posed one of the toughest climbing challenges in the early part of the Giro. Following a flat opening segment, riders ventured into the Apennines, where formidable climbs awaited. The race kicked off aggressively, with multiple attacks right from the start, leading to a breakaway that eventually formed.
As riders approached the steep inclines toward Corno alle Scale, the competition intensified. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) attempted to break away, but the top contenders swiftly closed in near the finish line. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) seized the opportunity to make a decisive move in the final kilometre, ultimately winning the stage, with Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) finishing second and third, respectively. Eulálio crossed the line in fifth, managing to limit his losses remarkably on a climb that favored the pure climbers.
Eulálio remarked, “First of all, it is perfect to arrive at the rest day in the pink jersey. That was one of the team’s objectives and we all fought for this. About today, this top five is crazy. I was fighting with the favourite group, with the GC guys, and I don’t know, it’s crazy.”
Notably, he expressed gratitude for his team’s support: “The whole team helped me again. All the staff, all the riders, everyone did their job perfectly. In the final, Damiano was there supporting me, and that is crazy. In my first race as a professional, Damiano won that race, and now I have Damiano Caruso helping me. I am living a dream.”
As the first rest day approaches, Eulálio aims to take a much-needed break: “Now, first of all, we need to enjoy the rest day because every day we live with full pressure all the time. We finish the stage, we have interviews, we travel to the hotels, we have dinner very late, then we wake up, open the bags and close the bags again.”
He continued, “There are still two weeks to go, so I just need to go day by day. It is a long race. Some days are very long and in one day you can lose ten minutes, so we just need to continue day by day. I also want to say thank you to all the Portuguese people, and to everyone supporting me around the world. I ask them to continue believing in me, helping me and motivating me.”
Franco Pellizotti, the team’s director, highlighted the strategic execution by the squad: “The guys were really focused at the start to let the right breakaway go for us. It was not easy, but they did a good job from the beginning. When the breakaway went, luckily there were no GC riders there, and for us that was perfect.”
The Giro d’Italia will resume on Tuesday with Stage 10, featuring a 42km individual time trial from Viareggio to Massa.
In a related event, the Bahrain Victorious team also concluded their campaign at the Tour de Hongrie, with Jakob Omrzel and Attila Valter finishing 8th and 9th, respectively, in the overall standings. Valter was recognized again as the best Hungarian rider.
