He is 38 years old, racing his ninth Giro d'Italia (his last), he started racing as a professional in 2009, when Pogacar was 11 years old. Damiano Caruso is still here, in the peloton, an example of how a rider should be and behave. After the Milan stage, the peloton rests in Lombardy: they will restart tomorrow from Bellinzona for the fourth uphill finish at the end of a stage entirely in the Ticino Canton.

How will the Bahrain Victorious veteran spend this rest day?

"I like to spend the rest day in the simplest way possible – explains Caruso, from Ragusa, who grew up as a young rider in Tuscany in the Mastromarco team, the same organization that launched Nibali -. I continue more or less with my routine, so I wake up early, a coffee at a leisurely pace and then I dedicate some time to my children, I call home. Calmly I wait for my teammates to wake up a bit later, I go to breakfast with them, we take a little bike ride".

And in the afternoon?

"Everyone does it their own way, everyone has their own way of dealing with it: some like to sleep, some watch a film or read a book, and in any case there are various therapies to do, massages, physiotherapy".

Caruso is 14th in the general classification, 8'49" behind the pink jersey wearer Vingegaard, and has been instrumental over these 15 stages alongside Portuguese teammate Eulalio, who wore the pink jersey for nine days: "I'm experiencing this Giro in a particular way, because it's true that I came here trying to win a stage, and it's not even guaranteed to manage it, right? – Caruso continues -. However, in a certain sense, with my team's performances, those of Afonso and his pink jersey, I'm also achieving something beautiful that I'll carry with me for a long time. So I feel fulfilled, in any case. I like racing for the team and keeping spirits high, I love this type of role. For me it's not a sacrifice, quite the opposite, being able to help someone who needs it, in this case a teammate, and being useful, is a role I've always carried out with happiness". Damiano is 38 years old, Eulalio is 24: over the last two months they've been together more than with their respective families. "Yes, I feel a bit like the older brother in the team, they're all like younger brothers, because I'm not only the oldest but I'm one of the oldest in the peloton, so I try paradoxically to give advice…".

The Sicilian from Bahrain Victorious also returns to the neutralization of times on Sunday during the final lap of the Milan circuit: "I don't know who was the spokesperson, I simply heard on the radio that there was this neutralization, the Jury had indicated to neutralize the time. As for the course, yes, it was dangerous but within limits. More than anything, due to the conditions of some parts of the route, they were a bit on the edge because there were many potholes in the asphalt, which was damaged and also dangerous, and you couldn't even grab a water bottle to drink. For example, I never managed to grab a water bottle from the feed zone. There were moments that were unclear about what was happening in the peloton, I didn't understand much being in it either, so I simply followed. I kept the pink jersey as my reference point: if I don't see the pink jersey dropping off the peloton I follow it, what else should I do? So that's what we did".