CYCLING – Team Bahrain Victorious star Damiano Caruso claimed an impressive podium place for third yesterday on the 17th stage of the Giro d’Italia, taking another strong result in Andalo and moving into the top 10 of the general classification (GC), while teammate Afonso Eulalio retained the Maglia Bianca, or white jersey, for best young rider.
Michael Valgren of EF Education-EasyPost won the stage after attacking in the final kilometre, with Andreas Leknessund of Uno-X Mobility second and Caruso just behind after a strong ride from the day’s breakaway.
The 202-kilometre leg was aggressive from the beginning, with many riders trying to enter the breakaway after the first kilometres on flat roads.
Caruso was alert in the early part of the race and eventually made it into the main move, giving the team representation at the front on a stage that was difficult to control.
The breakaway stayed clear into the final part yesterday, where the front group reduced and the attacks started.
Caruso remained in contention through the final kilometres and played his cards in the closing phase, crossing the line six seconds behind Valgren, who secured the stage victory with a late move.
The result moved Caruso into the top 10 in the GC, adding further value to his podium finish on a day where he spent much of the stage in the breakaway.
“It was really hard today – from the beginning, everyone knew it could be a breakaway stage, so I think almost 170 riders tried to join the move,” said Caruso.
“It was a big fight, especially in the first part, because it was completely flat.”
“Then, on the first KOM (King of the Mountains), I tried to make it across and finally joined the breakaway. After that, it was a long day with many riders in front, and in the final it became really hard.
“When we were down to 10 or 12 riders, everyone started attacking each other, and I have to say I was on the limit. But I was also smart to play my cards until the end.
“To finish on the podium means a lot for me. I am almost 39 years old, this is my last Giro d’Italia, and my dream is to leave this race with a great memory.
“Of course, I missed the victory, but honestly, I feel like I won today, because once again I showed myself that I have character.
“I want to say thank you for all the support, especially from the staff and the team, because they believed in me, and that means a lot. And of course, thank you to all the fans cheering for me during the whole day and during these three weeks. I’m happy, and that is the most important thing.”
Eulalio finished safely with the GC group and retained the Maglia Bianca, keeping the lead in the young rider classification with four stages remaining.
“We are super happy for one more day in the Maglia Bianca,” said Eulalio. “Today we had Damiano in the breakaway – he had the opportunity and he took it – so this is really good.
“Of course, we wanted the victory. I think Damiano deserved it, and the team would have been super happy with one more win, but we still have more opportunities in the next days.”
“For me, with the jersey, I arrived safely in the final with the GC group, and that was the main thing today. I want to thank once again all the team.”
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