CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious rider Afonso Eulalio moved into the Maglia Rosa yesterday after a remarkable ride on stage five of the Giro d’Italia, finishing second in Potenza after spending the day in the breakaway.
The 203-kilometre stage from Praia a Mare to Potenza delivered one of the first major tests of this year’s Giro, with a hard stage through Calabria and Basilicata, wet conditions throughout the day, and the Montagna Grande di Viggiano as the key climb before the final run towards Potenza. Igor Arrieta of UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the stage, with Eulalio finishing second, two seconds behind, while Guillermo Thomas Silva of Astana Qazaqstan Team completed the podium.
The stage was active almost immediately. With around 185km still to go, the breakaway began to form after an acceleration from the peloton, and Eulalio was quick to react and follow the move. The opening kilometres remained unsettled, with several attacks and regroupings before the breakaway finally went clear.
Eulalio spent much of the day at the front of the race, staying present as the group reduced over the climbs and through the rain. As the stage moved into its decisive phase, he reached Arrieta at the head of the race with around 50km to go, putting himself in contention for stage result and the overall lead.
The final kilometres brought more drama on the wet roads. Arrieta crashed while leading, some kms after Eulalio also went down and needed a bike change. The team car reacted quickly, allowing the Portuguese rider to get moving again and rejoin the fight at the front of the race.
The two came back together in the closing kilometres, before Arrieta missed a corner and Eulalio briefly went clear again. The Portuguese rider launched the sprint in the final 500m, but Arrieta came back on track, sprinting straight to take the stage victory, with Eulalio crossing the line in second place.
The result was enough for Eulalio to move into the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia and take the Maglia Rosa, finishing off a long day at the front of the race. He will start tomorrow’s stage from Paestum to Napoli wearing the leader’s jersey.
“I don’t really know how I feel,” Eulalio said. “It was a crazy day. With around 50km to go, on the steep climb, I went all in with Arrieta for the victory. From there, the race became super crazy, especially on the descent. He crashed, then I went alone thinking about the stage and the pink jersey, but then I also crashed and we came back together again.
“In the final, we both went all in for the victory. I tried to sprint, but in the end it was not really a sprint because we were both going so slowly after such a hard day. Of course, I wanted the stage win, but I am super happy with the pink jersey.
“Last year, I arrived in the world tour, and now I am wearing the maglia rosa at the Giro d’Italia. It is crazy.
“I think I will only realise tomorrow what this means, when I start the stage in the pink jersey with my teammates. The team was really good today, and after the crash they were super fast with the bike change. We stayed together, and now to start tomorrow with this jersey will be really special for all of us.
The stage results also moved Eulalio into the lead of the best young rider classification, adding the Maglia Bianca to an unforgettable day for the Portuguese rider and the team.
It rounded off a strong day for Team Bahrain Victorious, with Phil Bauhaus also sprinting to third place on the opening stage of the Tour of Hungary.
“I’m happy to be back on the podium,” said Bauhaus. “It’s my first podium of the year, so I’m really pleased about that. We didn’t start the stage in the best way, as both Nikias and I crashed, but luckily we were okay.
“After that, the team did a really good job. It was quite a straightforward finale and we found each other well in the lead-out. Alessandro and I were together inside the final 500m, and he managed to bring me onto Tim Merlier’s wheel.
“When he launched his sprint, I was already quite on the limit and couldn’t really hold his wheel, so third place was the maximum for me today.
“Unfortunately, our leader Jakob Omrzel crashed inside the final km. He was able to cross the finish line and, thankfully, it appears he suffered only bruises, though he will undergo further evaluation later on.”
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