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Alasdair Fotheringham

'I tried to suffer as much as possible' - Giro d'Italia leader Afonso Eulálio survives Blockhaus after hard fight to limit time loss

Bahrain - Victorious Portuguese rider Afonso Eulalio wearing the overall leader's pink jersey (Maglia Rosa) rides to cross the finish line of the 7th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2026 .

With no previous reference points in Grand Tours, there was literally no knowing how Giro d'Italia leader Afonso Eulálio would perform on the first and toughest summit finish of the race so far on Friday - and despite his total inexperience in such scenarios, on the Blockhaus, the Bahrain Victorious pro did the maglia rosa proud.

Eulálio only began to struggle 5.6 kilometres from the top of the monster Apennine climb, cracking only after Grand Tour champions of the calibre of former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Egan Bernal (Netcompany Ineos) and four-times Vuelta a España podium finisher Enric Mas (Movistar) had already fallen behind.

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