"I think he will now be able to render a huge service to João Almeida" - Jose de Cauwer predicts big third week for stage winner Brandon McNulty

Brandon McNulty took the biggest victory of his career to date on stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia. With his teammate Joao Almeida firmly in the battle for the Maglia Rosa, Sporza analyst Jose de Cauwer believes McNulty could be key.

"He proves that he is more than a time trialist and servant. This victory is welcome because he is not a winner," de Cauwer says in conversation with Karl Vannieuwkerke as part of their Giro d'Italia coverage for Sporza. "I think he will now be able to render a huge service to João Almeida . A lot has fallen off his shoulders. At UAE - with leaders such as Pogacar and Almeida - he will simply have to continue to make do with the small chances."

As far as the UAE Team Emirates leader's chances of victory goes, Almeida currently lies 4th in the general classification but more importantly, the Portuguese rider is just 20 seconds behind Primoz Roglic and 22 behind Geraint Thomas. Although he's gone somewhat under the radar, de Cauwer has been impressed.

"He is cycling well and started with conviction. We have not seen that much with the classification men. He is immediately behind the duo, so we should actually speak more of a trio," de Cauwer explains before referencing the impressive response of Primoz Roglic to Almeida's testing attack on stage 15. "At that stage he can't be surprised, of course. He was attentive and immediately had an answer ready."