"I tried to suffer as much as possible, but in the end I cracked": Afonso Eulalio fights hard to keep the pink jersey on the Blockhaus

Afonso Eulalio did his pink jersey proud on stage 7 of the Giro d'Italia, as the Portuguese rider pushed himself to the limit on the tough Blockhaus climb to keep his overall lead. Even though he got dropped by the top favorites near the end, he managed his effort well and will wear pink for another day.

Eulalio took the race lead on Wednesday after joining a breakaway on a stage that ended with a crazy finish won by Igor Arrieta. That move gave him a massive gap of over six minutes on the main overall contenders, including Jonas Vingegaard. He came into stage 7 wanting to hold onto that lead for as long as he could.

On the steep and windy roads of the Blockhaus, Eulalio managed to stay with the best climbers for a long time before he finally cracked with six kilometers to go. He crossed the line losing 2 minutes and 55 seconds to Vingegaard, but that was enough to keep the pink jersey. He still holds a solid lead of 3 minutes and 17 seconds over the Danish star.

"Super hard climb, very steep, windy," Eulalio said after the stage. "The team did a perfect job, also in the final protecting me. I tried to suffer as much as possible, but in the end I cracked."

He was quick to thank his veteran teammate, Damiano Caruso, for helping him pace his effort to the finish line. "If I hadn't had Damiano with me, I would probably have lost another minute or two," he explained. "But we survived and kept the pink jersey, which is our objective."

Eulalio knew the Blockhaus was going to be a huge test for his climbing legs. He admitted he was hurting badly while the pure climbers pushed the pace. "I felt on the limit during the climb, the other guys were flying, I was just trying to survive," he noted.

Still, losing a chunk of time was exactly what he expected to happen going into the stage. "This morning when people asked me how much time I thought I'd lose, I said two or three minutes... but that means I still have a three-minute lead."

When asked if a three-minute gap is a big enough cushion against a rider like Vingegaard, Eulalio stayed realistic but showed he is ready to keep battling. "In the final, I think everyone knows Vingegaard is one of the main favourites for the giro, but we need to fight to stay with the pink jersey."