“We’re talking about figures five or six times higher” - Afonso Eulalio poised to reap rewards of Giro d’Italia breakthrough with bumper new Bahrain contract

Afonso Eulalio arrived at the Giro d’Italia as a long-term Bahrain - Victorious project and left it as one of the most talked-about young GC riders in the peloton, with his agent now claiming contract figures have jumped “five or six times higher” after his breakthrough in Italy.

The Portuguese rider’s 2026 Giro was supposed to be another step in a gradual development plan. Instead, Eulalio became one of the race’s defining surprises. He spent nine days in the Maglia Rosa, survived the final mountain stages in the general classification battle and reached Rome as the best young rider in the race.

His current deal runs until the end of 2028, but his agent, Benat Intxausti, says the Giro has changed the scale of the discussion around his future. “Afonso has a contract until the end of 2028, but it is clear that things have changed a lot with the Giro,” Intxausti told TopCycling. “The team is very happy and wants to offer him a long-term contract.”

The numbers now being discussed are on a completely different level. “At the moment there is an existing contract and we are negotiating a longer-term one,” Intxausti said. “After the Giro, however, we are talking about figures that are five or six times higher than those in his current contract.”

Eulalio’s rise did not come from nowhere inside Bahrain - Victorious. Intxausti made clear that the team already believed in him before the Giro and had planned a longer route towards Grand Tour leadership.

That belief is now being tested by the market. The Giro did not simply improve Eulalio’s reputation. It turned him from a promising project into a rider with proven three-week GC value. “Last winter, three WorldTour teams had already asked for information, but he wanted to stay at Bahrain, because they were the team that believed in him, taking him from a Portuguese Continental team to the highest level,” Intxausti said.

The loyalty remains important, but Eulalio’s Giro has changed the reality around him. “But a rider’s market value is dictated by the market itself,” Intxausti added. “At the end of this season there will certainly be teams very interested in Afonso, willing to offer him a much better contract than the one he currently has.”

Bahrain - Victorious did not begin the Giro expecting Eulalio to carry their GC hopes deep into the final week. Santiago Buitrago started as the team’s general classification leader, only for the Colombian to crash and abandon the race.

That opened the door far earlier than planned. “The team already had a four-year project for him: to create a solid rider for the Grand Tours and one-week races, but in the long term,” Intxausti said. “That project involved doing a Grand Tour and gradually learning how to be a leader.”

The Giro forced the timetable forward. Eulalio took on the responsibility without the usual signs of a rider overwhelmed by sudden pressure. “On the first rest day, when they arrived in Italy, I spoke to Afonso and told him: ‘A door has opened for you, to become the team captain and leader,’” Intxausti said. “He took on that role without any nervousness, which is rare in a cyclist with little experience, and that was when I understood he had what it takes to become a champion.”

Eulalio did not simply inherit a position after the breakaway that put him in pink. He defended the Maglia Rosa for long enough to make the peloton take him seriously, then kept himself high in the GC even when the race reached its decisive climbing stages.

His final sixth place put him behind Jonas Vingegaard, Felix Gall, Jai Hindley, Thymen Arensman and Derek Gee-West, but ahead of riders such as Michael Storer, Davide Piganzoli, Damiano Caruso and Egan Bernal. For a rider still in the early phase of his WorldTour development, that result has changed the conversation around him.

Intxausti believes the shift is not only sporting. “The Afonso who finished the Giro is different from the Afonso who started it,” he said. “He is a rider of great value for the team and for the cycling world. He wore the Maglia Rosa, he was the best young rider, and the value of his image has increased significantly.”

The agent also pointed to Eulalio’s presence off the bike, with the Portuguese rider becoming one of the more popular figures of the race during his time in pink and white. “There are excellent riders who do not have this gift with the press,” Intxausti said. “He, however, won over the public and the journalists.”

Bahrain - Victorious now have a new GC asset to protect. Eulalio already has a contract through 2028, but his Giro has moved him into a different category. The rider who arrived in Italy as a long-term project left it as one of the most valuable young stage racers on the market.