Keeping the pink jersey "a dream for me" as Juan Pedro López flies up Blockhaus

Juan Pedro López found himself in the right breakaway on stage four which has led him to the pink jersey, and he has in the meantime defended it successfully over the week, and will carry it on his shoulders for the second week after a strong ride on Blockhaus has kept him ahead of the main overall classification contenders

"This is a dream for me. I don’t believe in this moment. For sure I didn’t believe I would be here, at the top of Blockhaus, before the rest day, with the Maglia Rosa," he said in a post-race interview. López shed 1:46 minutes to stage winner Jai Hindley, however that was enough to have first place in the overall classification once the math was made.

With Bauke Mollema having confirmed his focus on stage wins and Giulio Ciccone crack early on in the ascent, that left the Spaniard not only as the only Trek - Segafredo rider in the GC group over the final ascent, he is now also the sole leader for the team's aspirations in the classification.

He climbed with the best until eight kilometers to go, as he had to put a foot down after a swerve in front of him in the group: "Unfortunately, this was a very difficult moment for me mentally. I needed to stay focused. I needed to put my mind 100% into the race, and I told myself that I need to push my tempo again so to stay another day in pink," he added.

He couldn't rejoin the head of the race, however his pace was high enough to limit the losses enough to celebrate over the finish line.

"My dream was to stay another day in pink. And now this is real. Finally, we have a rest day... We need to enjoy the dinner… and every moment. My team is like a second family, I have a good relationship with the soigneurs, mechanics, everyone. I spend a lot of time with them outside my home – for sure we will enjoy this together," he concluded. 

His lead is currently of only 12 seconds over João Almeida, however López is likely to keep the lead of the race at least until stage 14 which will see the riders climb around Torino in a very explosive stage.