Damiano Caruso said it straight away at the finish line: "Compared to the Blockhaus, in my opinion, Eulalio managed the situation well and together we tried to find a pace that would allow us to arrive with the smallest possible gap".

The Sicilian from Bahrain-Victorious delivers yet another very solid performance. At 38 years old, he is competing in his ninth Giro d'Italia, the race in which he finished second in 2021 but also fourth in 2023 and fifth in 2025, always the best Italian in the general classification: a stage win in 2021, the Valle Spluga-Alpe di Motta stage. Yesterday he finished 17th at 2'55", six seconds behind his captain Eulalio, in the group with O'Connor, the Australian who certainly started with podium ambitions. In the standings he is 14th at 8'49" from Vingegaard, but the top ten is less than three minutes away.

Caruso wipes the sweat away and gets back on track: "Yes, of course I really want to do well in the final week. I need to recover some energy above all and then try one day for a stage victory, but it's not that simple, and it's not a given either. Rather than dropping out of contention, at this point it makes more sense to try to bring home a top-ten finish with Eulalio, defend his white jersey and see if I can also improve my overall position". The final week ahead features an already well-defined classification, an absolute leader (Vingegaard) and three mountain-top finishes: Tuesday in Switzerland at Carì, then Friday the big Dolomite stage Alleghe-Piani di Pezzé with the tough Giau-Cima Coppi and Saturday the double climb to Piancavallo before the transfer to Rome. Caruso is a man built for the long haul, who thrives over distance. An authentic team leader within Bahrain Victorious, a gentleman of cycling built on principles and respect. And we believe there is every reason for him to give himself a great moment of joy in what could be his final Giro.