Bahrain Victorious domestique witnessed a blossoming Eulálio at Giro d'Italia: ‘Physically the equal of Piganzoli’

In a Giro d’Italia that largely respected the pecking order in the sprints and on the climbs, there was one man who turned the race upside down for a long time. Afonso Eulálio wore the pink jersey for nine days, fought for stage wins and, to everyone’s surprise, finished sixth overall, with the white young rider’s jersey on his shoulders. Mathijs Paasschens saw the Portuguese fairytale at Bahrain Victorious up close. Bram from IDL Pro Cycling spoke to the 30-year-old Dutchman on the final day in Rome.

“It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. We came here aiming for a good general classification with Santiago Buitrago, but that main goal disappeared straight away because of that big crash on day two. As a team, we immediately told each other: we are here for three weeks, and we have to make the best of it.”

“Afonso gave us the best possible setup with that breakaway on day five. That put us in a situation where we could keep the pink jersey for a long time. That gave us a reason to fight every day, and it lifted the whole team. Everyone had something to defend and a reason to suffer.”

“We all outperformed ourselves, with Alec [Segaert, ed.] also winning a stage. That was another big goal for the team. And the fact that we also kept the white jersey in the end, I would not call a surprise, because Afonso rode superbly. In the end, it gives you that extra satisfaction.”

“My level was actually very high and very consistent for three weeks. In the final days I did feel tired, but when I looked around me, I think we as a team always did the best job possible with recovery. That is where you can still make the difference at the end of a Grand Tour.”

“I rode well uphill and some days I could last longer than expected. That was necessary too, because after Buitrago dropped out we had a little less support in the mountains. If you can still bring up a bidon or an ice cube in the valley, those are the details that make the difference.”

“He is always very positive and happy, and I do not know him any other way. After everything we had already been through and achieved, it was already beautiful. If we could keep the white jersey, that would be extra nice. But for us the Giro was already a success, even if it had not worked out.”

“Yes, absolutely. And Afonso was also often close to Piganzoli, who has also had to ride for others a lot. He has never had podium ceremonies, and you should not underestimate those 19 days with doping controls, ceremonies, press conferences... Over three weeks that makes a huge difference, take that from me. Physically, he may well have been the equal of Piganzoli, so he really deserved this.”