"Magnier was just a hair's breadth away": Edoardo Zambanini comes close to upset victory

Team Bahrain - Victorious is enjoying a surprisingly decent Giro d'Italia. Even though their main star Santiago Buitrago withdrew following stage 2 crash, the remaining group of riders put out great performances, especially Afonso Eulálio. The Portuguese man was again in the spotlight during stage 18 first because of a crash, later with two attacks, but all of that ended up being a good work done for the team's fast man Edoardo Zambanini who beat Jonathan Milan in a technical arrival to Pieve di Soligo and secured an unlikely runner-up result when only three-time stage winner Paul Magnier managed the finale better.

"So far, it's been a magnificent Giro, my morale is really high," Zambanini said at the finish line. "I have to thank the whole team, they've always been very strong and I'm really happy."

Without a strong breakaway on Thursday, it became clear that some teams were interested in winning the stage from peloton. In particular Lidl-Trek and Soudal - Quick-Step were in the forefront with their rather versatile sprinters ready for another showdown. And, fortunately for them, it turned out that none of the GC men was willing to spend any extra energy before the two key mountain stages ahead.

"Apart from Afonso Eulalio's attack, nobody really tried anything on the climb. There was a bit of a wait-and-see attitude, but I tried to manage my positioning as best I could. Then, in the finale, I tried to stay at the front as much as possible because I knew it was very technical, and in the end it worked."

First to crest the top was a small group of GC favourites where either Thomas Silva or Orluis Aular would've been a favourite in case of a sprint. But a large group featuring both Magnier and Milan was not too far behind and eventually made the bridge three kilometers to go. Largely thanks to the efforts of Magnier's teammates who have set up a perfect sprint for their leader.

Zambanini in his wheel could only try to hang on and hold off the launching Jonathan Milan who was further behind because of the technical run-in.

"Of course, Paul Magnier was the favorite sprinter, but there were a lot of sprinters up front and he was the best. He was just a hair's breadth away. I knew it was a fairly technical finale, so I tried to stay well positioned at all times, even if I was sometimes getting a bit of a wind. But yes, everything went well," concluded the Italian.