Damiano Caruso on the podium of Tour de Romandie following strong performance on queen stage: "This gives me morale in view of the Giro"

At 35 years of age Damiano Caruso knows how to prepare for a Grand Tour. A modest start to 2023 didn't seem promising as he built up towards the Giro d'Italia, but he has finally came into form at just the right time as his strong performances at the Tour de Romandie see him jump into the podium.

“I knew the last climb very well. It's very long and it's vital to be able to manage the effort in the best possible way," Caruso said in a post-race interview. "First of all I want to thank my team mates who did a great job protecting me all day: I arrived at the final climb in the best way. I did well, and in the final stages my performance improved and I was able to sprint for third place."

The Bahrain - Victorious rider started the day under the radar, but in sixth place after a set of strong time-trials. He didn't make moves throughout the final ascent and opted to follow the wheels of Team DSM and Matteo Jorgenson who pushed up the second half of the final ascent to Thyon 2000. At high altitude where the Italian frequently performs well, he resisted the high pace in the chasing group and sprinted to third place on the day, only behind Adam Yates and Thibaut Pinot.

"This means that I am also third in the general classification and it gives me a lot of satisfaction, because after the Giro di Sicilia I wanted to demonstrate that the condition is there. This gives me morale in view of the Giro," he concluded. Jack Haig, Santiago Buitrago and Gino Mäder are also expected to be in the team's lineup for the Corsa Rosa, and the 2021 runner-up has now become a card for the overall classification too.