'I'll never forget this Giro' - Eulálio defends white jersey in career-defining Grand Tour

Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious) has emerged as one of the breakout stars of the 2026 Giro d’Italia. After capturing the leader's maglia rosa on Stage 4, the 24-year-old Portuguese rider successfully battled through gruelling mountain finishes atop Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale, alongside Stage 10’s individual time trial.

While Eulálio eventually relinquished the maglia rosa to Jonas Vingegaard on Stage 14, he maintained a commanding lead in the best young rider classification.

Eulálio's lead was slashed significantly during Friday’s brutal queen stage, where he lost 1:14 to his closest classification rival, Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike). Despite the setback, Eulálio held a 1:03 advantage heading into Saturday, knowing that only two ascents of the Piancavallo climb stood between him and taking the maglia bianca to Rome.

During the final showdown, Piganzoli was the first to lose contact with the elite GC group 11km from the finish line. However, the Italian managed his pace conservatively, while an aggressive Eulálio pushed himself deep into the red. 

When Eulálio was caught by a chasing group containing Piganzoli, Michael Storer (Tudor), and teammate Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious), the high-stakes pressure could have easily overwhelmed the inexperienced young rider.

Fortunately, Eulálio could rely on the wisdom of his veteran teammate, Caruso. The experienced Italian, a former Giro runner-up with 22 Grand Tours to his name, provided invaluable mentorship throughout the entire race, not just the penultimate stage. 

“I told Damiano Caruso before the climb that he was riding better than me and that he could go ahead, that I wasn’t going to have a good day,” said Eulálio. “He told me straight away that he’d stay with me right to the end, come what may, and that gives me a lot of confidence.”

In just his second Grand Tour appearance, Eulálio has taken a massive career leap. Ahead of the final processional stage in Rome, he sits in an impressive sixth place overall, 9:39 behind race leader Vingegaard, and leads the youth classification by 1:13 over Piganzoli.

He is now on the verge of becoming the first Portuguese winner of the maglia bianca since João Almeida in 2023, a result that far exceeds his pre-race expectations.

“There were times when I thought just finishing in the top 10 would be something out of this world, wouldn’t you say?” said Eulálio. 

“I'm sixth, wore the white jersey, wore the pink jersey, and I don’t know what to say. I’ll never forget this Giro, ever.”