Silva makes history for Uruguay with Giro triumph: 'It's the ultimate'

Arriving in Bulgaria, having recently won two stages and the GC at the Tour of Hainan, the 24-year-old knew he was in good form, but winning so early in the race was beyond his dreams. 

The achievement is all the more special because it’s been 60 years since Juan José Timón became the first Uruguayan to race in Italy, something which was acknowledged post-race.

“Yes, well, something incredible, isn't it? Something historic, as you say, for the country. Well, personally, it's the ultimate,” Silva told CyclingProNet. “Honestly, I came all the way to Italy, hoping to fight for a stage win, and that if I won the second stage, I’d be able to wear the pink jersey. I’m speechless.”

As he mentioned, Silva has the added bonus of taking the maglia rosa from the shoulders of Paul Magnier, and with a sprint finish expected on stage 3, has a strong chance of carrying the race lead into Italy. 

Silva also dedicated the victory to his family, highlighting their support in his aspirations to become a professional.

“Well, this victory is for them, isn’t it? For my father, my family, who’ve been by my side since I was a little boy; now they’re here, and to be able to give them a victory is just incredible.”

One rider who played a big role in the win was Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), who produced the lead-out for Silva once a dangerous group featuring Jonas Vingegaard, Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) had been caught.

“Well, the truth is that during the last 10km I had a lot of confidence, but I had to stay calm, stay calm, and trust my teammates. [Christian] Scaroni trusted me the whole time when he saw me in that group,” said Silva.

“He did a magnificent job at the end to close out those four ahead and leave me here to launch my sprint. So I think the tactic was to stay calm and trust, and luckily it worked out.”