CYCLING – Team Bahrain Victorious rider Afonso Eulalio retained the Maglia Rosa after stage seven of the Giro d’Italia yesterday, completing the first major mountain test of this year’s race on the summit finish at Blockhaus.
The 244-kilometre leg from Formia to Blockhaus was the longest stage of the Giro and one of the hardest tests of the opening week. The route began along the coast of southern Lazio, passing through Sperlonga and Gaeta, before returning through Formia and heading inland towards Abruzzo.
The final part of the stage included Roccaraso and Passo di San Leonardo before the summit finish on Blockhaus, one of the Giro’s most iconic climbs, with the final ascent measuring around 13km at an average of 8.4 per cent.
After retaining the leader’s jersey in Napoli, Eulalio started his second day in the Maglia Rosa facing a very different challenge. The team stayed focused on supporting him through a long and demanding stage, with the main objective of defending the jersey on the first major mountain finish of the race.
A small breakaway spent most of the day at the front, building an advantage during the opening part of the stage before the gap began to come down as the race moved towards the main climbs. The team kept Eulalio protected through the early kilometres and into the final part of the stage, before the general classification (GC) riders began to come forward ahead of the ascent to Blockhaus.
On the final climb, Team Visma-Lease a Bike increased the pressure, reducing the GC group before Jonas Vingegaard attacked with around 5.5km remaining. Eulalio rode at his own rhythm in the final kilometres, limiting his losses and finishing 15th on the stage, two minutes and 55 seconds behind the winner to retain the Maglia Rosa.
Vingegaard won the stage, with Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM Team finishing second at 13 seconds and Jai Hindley of Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe completing the podium at 1:02.
Eullio also retained the lead in the best young rider classification and remains first overall, now leading the general classification by 3:17 over Vingegaard
“It was a really long stage, with a very hard and steep final climb, and a lot of wind,” said Eulalio. “The team did a perfect job throughout the day, for almost 250 kilometres, and it was also important to have Damiano (Caruso) with me in the final. In the end, we survived and kept the Maglia Rosa, which was our objective for the day.
“In the end, I think all the teams and all the riders know that Jonas is one of the favourites to win the Giro and that he can take the pink jersey, but we have to keep fighting and try to stay in the jersey until the rest day.”
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