Departing Damiano looking to make an impact for himself at the Giro now that pink is gone

Damiano Caruso is riding his very last Giro d'Italia as a professional. The Italian from Bahrain Victorious announced his retirement earlier this year and will move into a directeur sportif role at the team after this season. But first, a third week still awaits him. After spending a long spell defending the pink jersey of Afonso Eulálio, the 38-year-old Italian is hoping to go for his own result in his final Giro week, he tells bici.PRO.

Caruso's Bahrain Victorious are having a magnificent Giro. Leader Santiago Buitrago fell early, but the team quickly recovered by putting Eulálio in the pink jersey. The Portuguese rider held the lead for nine days and enters the third week second overall.

Despite his younger team-mate's high standing in the classification, Caruso is hoping to ride for his own result in the third week. "This Giro has already been fantastic. If it ended today, I would go home happy. Now that Afonso is no longer in the jersey, I also get the chance to ride for my own prize. Any top result would be a lovely bonus," he says.

Caruso sees himself as an important link between the riders and management in this Giro, supporting his younger team-mates — and with results to show for it. "Segaert showed his class with a masterful move. He really did that entirely on his own: the timing, the method".

Beyond Segaert's success, there has also been the revelation of the Giro in Eulálio, whom Caruso has taken under his wing. "We said straight away: the leader's jersey has to be defended." And defended it was — for nine days — until Vingegaard took the jersey at Pila. That does not mean Bahrain Victorious' classification ambitions are finished, however.

"There is no point in dropping out of the classification now. It is time to fight for the white jersey and a top-five or top-ten finish." Whether his Portuguese team-mate's Giro is ultimately judged a success depends on more than just a result, Caruso believes. "It has already given him an enormous amount of experience. That is something he can only benefit from as a rider".

Caruso is also full of admiration for the standard of this Giro. "People thought that with only Vingegaard at the start as the absolute standout, the level would be lower. But the average level has risen so much that it is just as hard as the Tour. It is no easier to finish high at the Giro d'Italia," the experienced Italian concludes.

Whether Caruso will also line up at the Tour de France after the Giro remains an open question. "We will calmly consider that after Rome," he signs off.