"I don’t believe what I have just done" - Juan Pedro López on breakthrough Giro d'Italia

Juan Pedro López was one of, if not the biggest revelation of the Giro d'Italia. Trek - Segafredo have given wings to another of it's climbers, and definitely a rider who in the future can ambition for strong Grand Tour results and lead the team alone.

“For sure now, I don’t believe what I have just done. When I arrive home, I will have time to think about all this, and maybe it will become real. Now I am enjoying the moment with my family, and also this night," he said at the end of yesterday's time-trial, where the Spaniard was one of the happiest riders in the Verona amphitheatre.

López had shown potential over the last year, having finished 13th at the Vuelta a España last year and 11th at the recent Itzulia Basque Country, however not even in his wildest dreams would he have expected to put on such an impressive performance. It all started on stage four on Mount Etna: “For me, the best moment was when I took the pink jersey on Etna. It’s super, super beautiful when you put on the pink jersey.”

López then went on to defend it for a whole 10 days, almost half the Giro. He survived the brutal stage to Blockhaus in pink, and held on to it until stage 14 where he cracked on BORA's attack in Torino. However, his Giro was far from done, as he did not show many difficulties throughout the rest of the race and managed to stay in the overall contention until the very last day, securing a place in the Top10.

However that tenth place landed him a spot on the podium in Verona, as he conquered the youth classification - after João Almeida was forced to abandon before the start of stage 18. That concluded a breakthrough race for López, who has shown a lot of determination and above all quality to ride amongst the best in what was a brutal Grand Tour, confirming his status as a stage-racer.