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News & Racing<\/a><\/p>\n It’s been quite a Giro for up-and-comers, including Portuguese talent Eul\u00e1lio, Visma-Lease a Bike pair Piganzoli and Rex, and even sprinter Magnier, who’s stepped up at his second Grand Tour.<\/p>\n Kristof Ramon, Harry Talbot, Zac Williams, and Cor Vos<\/p>\n Grand Tours might be the playground for the biggest and best names in cycling, but they are long enough and varied enough to hold space for unknowns to become known, even if they occupy the shadowy space on the edge of the spotlight held by stage winners and GC favourites. From unpredictable sprints to breakaways and long climbs, there\u2019s always a handful of names that write themselves into the story by the end of the three-week races, especially the Giro d\u2019Italia and Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n This May\u2019s pilgrimage through Italy has been no different. In fact, though recency bias is often a factor, we may have been spoiled. Since the race began in Bulgaria, at least half a dozen riders have catapulted themselves into focus, and foremost among them is, appropriately, maglia bianco winner Afonso Eul\u00e1lio.<\/p>\n Afonso Eul\u00e1lio: ‘This Giro has changed my career, but it hasn’t changed me’<\/p>\n With little doubt, the single biggest revelation of the entire race is the Portuguese 24-year-old who started his second Giro as a support rider for Santiago Buitrago. But after the Colombian fell victim to the race-influencing crash on stage 2<\/a>, the whole team was given a much longer leash than they might have expected. Eul\u00e1lio\u2019s adventure began on stage 5<\/a>, whose comedy finale \u2013 with crashes and wrong turns for Eul\u00e1lio and eventual stage-winner Igor Arrieta \u2013 has paled in the weeks that have followed.<\/p>\n After losing about three minutes to Jonas Vingegaard on Blockhaus<\/a>, the first real sign of what was to come was on stage 9 to Corno alle Scale<\/a>, the second summit finish, where Eul\u00e1lio finished fifth, just 41 seconds after the Dane.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I never imagined that today I would arrive in the top five in the GC group of the favourites,\u201d Eul\u00e1lio said after stage 9 when asked about his limits, \u201cit\u2019s crazy for me, I don\u2019t know what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n After finishing second to Arrieta on day five, Eul\u00e1lio spent over a week in the pink jersey, longer than anyone expected, and when he was finally shoved aside by Vingegaard<\/a>, the 24-year-old only dropped one place to second overall before the final rest day. Eul\u00e1lio then had a tough week in Swiss Alps and Dolomites of week three, but still, he never completely capitulated, and his hold on the white jersey appeared firm.<\/p>\n This post is for paying subscribers only Already have an account? Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n \n \ud83d\udc4dYep![\"Kit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/profile-pic-KN-150x150.jpg\")
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Eul\u00e1lio digging deep on the Corno alle Scale at the end of stage 9, where he defied expectation to finish fifth.<\/p>\n
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