CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious rider Damiano Caruso claimed a top 20 finish yesterday in the second stage of the 109th Giro d’Italia.
The elite men’s road race is part of the Union Cycliste Internationale World Tour 2026, and it is the first of three grand tours this season. The others are the Tour de France in July and the Vuelta a Espana in August and September.
Caruso crossed the finish line yesterday in 17th as part of a large lead group that battled in a sprint to the finish. They were led by stage winner Guillermo Thomas Silva of XDS Astana Team, who completed the gruelling 221-km distance – the second-longest stage of this year’s 21-leg race – in five hours 39 minutes and 25 seconds.
Teammate Alec Segaert followed in 39th place, while Afonso Eulalio came 57th. Edoardo Zambanini was 75th, Fran Miholjevic 104th, and Robert Stannard 105th for the team, while Mathijs Paasschens rounded out the Bahrain Victorious finishers in 143rd.
Buitrago Santiago, who headed into the event as one of the squad’s leaders, was forced to abandon the race with approximately 23km to go yesterday after being involved in a crash, according to the team. They added that he was taken to the nearest hospital for medical examinations.
Following yesterday’s results, Caruso became Bahrain Victorious’ top rider on the general classification after climbing a massive 61 positions to 14th.
Meanwhile, Segaert and Eulalio moved into the leading 20 on the best young rider ranking, going to 18th and 20th, respectively.
This year’s Giro d’Italia is set to cover a total of 3,470 kilometres and 47,539 metres of elevation as action continues until May 31. Stage three is set for today, to be held across 175km.
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