"I see no reason why he shouldn’t keep improving": Afonso Eulálio's coach optimistic for Giro revelation's future

Just over a year ago, Afonso Eulálio was still seen as one of the rising stars of Portuguese cycling. Today, he is already an established name in the international peloton. The Bahrain - Victorious rider wrapped up the Giro d’Italia on Sunday with an impressive 6th place overall, also winning the White Jersey, awarded to the best young rider.

The rider from Figueira da Foz confirmed what the team had started anticipating since the beginning of the season: Eulálio has gone from being just a developing talent to becoming one of the most valuable pieces for the Middle Eastern squad’s future.

The Portuguese rider showed consistency over the three weeks, endured the toughest high-mountain stages, responded well on the days of greatest pressure, and displayed rare competitive maturity for a cyclist who only recently arrived in the WorldTour.

During Bahrain’s training camp in Altea, in the Valencian Community, Pau Salvà had his first opportunities to work directly with Afonso Eulálio. The Spanish coach, who joined the team this year, quickly realized he was dealing with an exceptional rider.

"It was an important discovery. In 2020 he started doing a bit of MTB and some races, was spotted by the national team [Feirense], and began to do both road and MTB. From 2020 to 2025 to reach the WorldTour and finish 8th in one of the toughest World Championships, in Rwanda, says a lot about his potential. He’s still developing, but in 2026 the expectations for him are higher," Salvà told TopCycling.

Salvà’s words gained even more weight after this Giro. The coach believed the Portuguese rider could improve quickly, but few imagined such an immediate impact in a Grand Tour.

Within Bahrain there is one trait everyone highlights about Afonso Eulálio: his ability to surpass himself in competition. While many cyclists post their best numbers in training, the Portuguese rider seems to find his best when he pins on a race number.

"He’s a calm person, accepts what we tell him, follows the prescribed training, and trusts the coach and what we’re doing. Then he’s a rider who flips the switch when he competes and is able to exceed himself in races, which isn’t a trait that many riders have."

"Usually, in training, they can go deeper, to the limit of effort, but Afonso enjoys competing; it’s what he loves to do, and we’re here to win races. We’re a WorldTour team and that’s the goal. He likes to race and race to win; it’s a natural talent he has that’s still to be explored."

Throughout the Giro d’Italia, that was evident. Eulálio didn’t just defend himself. He sought to be with the best in decisive moments, showed personality on the toughest climbs, and revealed an enormous capacity to suffer on the bike and recover well between stages.

Despite the growing interest around the Portuguese rider, everything indicates that his future will remain tied to Bahrain - Victorious, as the deal to extend the relationship between both parties was practically sealed during the winter.

The team believes there is significant room for the young Portuguese to develop further, both physically and technically. Time trialing remains one of the areas with the greatest potential for growth, as well as certain aspects related to positioning within the peloton.

"We want to focus on ensuring his thresholds keep rising. He needs to improve positioning in the peloton, be able to ride for an hour at full gas, and understand that there are moments when he has to eat and drink. It’s not just about improving physical aspects, but also some technical ones. We can infer that over the next two years he will continue to progress, because in his first year he already exceeded expectations, and I see no reason why he shouldn’t keep improving in this second year."

"We don’t know where his ceiling is; that’s what we want to discover, in addition to understanding which races suit him best to shape his calendar properly - that is, whether he’ll be a Grand Tour leader or fight for wins in one-day races. In the time trial he’s completely unpolished, but that’s a matter of work."