New Giro leader Eulalio on betting with teammates and working with rivals

The finale of the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia was a rollercoaster ride for all concerned. Afonso Eulalio of Bahrain Victorious looked to have the stage win in his hands after Igor Arrieta of UAE Team Emirates-XRG crashed — only to go down hard himself shortly afterwards. Then Arrieta crashed again, missed a corner, and somehow still overtook his Portuguese rival for the win. The runner-up could at least console himself with the pink jersey.

"I can't believe it," Eulalio began, beaming from ear to ear in his post-stage flash interview. "It's just incredible that I'm wearing the pink jersey. It was a crazy day — but we also need to be focused on what's coming."

The Portuguese rider, who finished ninth at last year's World Championships in Rwanda, helps wipe away the bitter start his team had to this Giro. Team leader Santiago Buitrago was involved in the stage two crash and had to leave the race with a concussion.

"Without Santiago, opportunities open up — but I also want to dedicate this to him, even though he's not here with us," Eulalio said. He now sits 2 minutes 51 seconds ahead of Arrieta in the general classification, and more than six minutes ahead of the GC contenders.

Where Eulalio dedicated his pink jersey to Buitrago, Arrieta dedicated his stage win to his fallen teammates from stage two: Jay Vine, Adam Yates and Marc Soler. "Jhonatan Narváez's win was a big inspiration — but so were my teammates who are already at home. They worked so hard to get to this Giro, and then in one corner, all of them... gone."

On the stage's hardest climb, Eulalio was the only rider from the chasing group able to bridge across to Arrieta. "On that climb I basically went all in for the stage and the pink jersey. It's a shame I didn't win the stage."

He explains why it stings a little more than usual. "I have a bet going with Damiano Caruso. If I win two stages, he'll ride another year," Eulalio laughed, referring to his 38-year-old Bahrain Victorious teammate. "I didn't win today — but there are still chances."

He will first need to recover from the crash he suffered in the finale. "Without that crash, it would have been an even better day. In the finale I still felt reasonably good — but I hadn't felt that way for most of the stage. Then again, in those conditions, that was probably true for everyone."

Arrieta echoed his breakaway companion's assessment. "It was a hard and bizarre day, mainly because of the weather. It wasn't that cold at the start, but later, on a long descent, things became really chaotic in the front group. Eulalio was strong," he said, paying the Portuguese rider a genuine compliment.

"He caught me on a steep, long climb and we agreed to ride to the finish together," Arrieta explained. "But then I crashed, then he crashed, and then I missed a corner. I told myself it couldn't end like this — and I could see he was struggling too, so I was still able to get past him."