CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious’ Afonso Eulalio kept the Maglia Rosa after stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia yesterday, defending the race lead in the 42-kilometre individual time trial (ITT).
The Portuguese rider also retained the Maglia Bianca after the first test of the second week.
The stage was the Giro’s only ITT, with a flat and fast route along the Tuscan coast. Starting in Viareggio, the course followed long, open roads through Versilia before finishing in Massa, on a day made for the time trial specialists.
Filippo Ganna of Netcompany Ineos won the stage with a time of 45 minutes and 53.87 seconds, ahead of teammate Thymen Arensman, who finished second a minute and 53.34 seconds behind. Remi Cavagna of Groupama-FDJ United completed the podium, finishing third at 1:59.03 back.
For Eulalio, the objective was clear: manage the effort, limit the losses, and fight to keep pink. He completed the course in just under 51 minutes, finishing 41st on the stage, but doing enough to remain in the Maglia Rosa. After losing nearly two minutes to Jonas Vingegaard on the day, Eulalio now leads the general classification by 27 seconds.
“I don’t have words to explain this,” said Eulalio. “In my head, I thought I would lose the Maglia Rosa today because normally time trials are the hardest thing for me, and this one was flat and very long. But I just kept fighting, and I think the Maglia Rosa gives some extra power.”
It was another important day for the team, with Alec Segaert also producing a strong ride in the ITT, finishing 16th on the stage.
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