"I am never going to forget this Giro": Afonso Eulálio secures white jersey after grueling final mountain showdown

The penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia is complete, with Jonas Vingegaard dominant once again, finishing more than a minute ahead of Felix Gall, Jai Hindley, and Derek Gee to take his fifth stage victory. Behind the fight for the stage win, one of the revelations of the race, Afonso Eulálio, successfully defended his white jersey. His lead was threatened by Vingegaard's teammate, Davide Piganzoli, but the Italian did not have the legs to drop Eulálio. Instead, the Portuguese rider launched his own move, dropping Piganzoli to finish seventh on the stage.

When asked if there was much more he could have done on such a demanding day, Eulálio acknowledged the high level of the competition in a post-race interview. "No, I couldn't do much and that's it. Today I think in the end it was a fight, a good fight. A fight with people who are very strong, there is nothing to be done, right?"

Eulálio also admitted that he struggled with his confidence the night before the stage, following a difficult previous day on the bike.

"For sure I didn't come in very motivated after yesterday, but it was a very, very hard day. It's one of the hardest stages ever. And yes, it's like I'm telling you, I didn't come in very confident, but all the people I surround myself with always told me: 'You can do it, you can do it,' and I think [the strength] came from there."

A major factor in Eulálio's success was the support of veteran teammate Damiano Caruso, who guided him through the final mountain pass. Eulálio explained that this support was part of a long-term team effort.

"Yes, look at how Caruso helps me. Not only today, it comes from the three weeks in the Giro, and from the three weeks before the Giro. This isn't just from now, it's from all the work we did before the Giro too. And it's because of all the people around me, how they believe in me. They believe in me more than I do myself. Everyone tells me: 'Look, Afonso, you can do it. You are better than the others, you are recovering well day by day, the others are falling behind.' And all the people around me make me believe more."

The breakthrough rider revealed that he only realized the white jersey was truly secured during the final climb of the day, after a direct conversation with Caruso.

"Look, only on the last climb. I had told Damiano Caruso before the climb that if he was going better than me, he could go, that I wasn't going to have a good day. And he told me right away that he was staying with me until the end, no matter what happened, and that gave me a lot of confidence."

Having worn both the maglia rosa and the maglia bianca during these three weeks, Eulálio reflected on how much his life has changed and how far he exceeded his original expectations. "Look, I am never going to forget this Giro. Whatever happens, it will stay in my memory forever. It is impossible to forget this Giro that I have experienced."

"Look, there were moments when I thought that finishing in the top 10 was already something from another world. And the truth is that finishing top 10 in a Giro d'Italia is very, very hard, right? It's not something that is done very easily. I finished sixth, with the maglia bianca, I wore rosa... and I don't know, I don't know what to say. I am never going to forget this Giro, never."