Damiano Caruso achieved another great performance on the slopes of Sega di Ala on the 17th stage of the Giro d’Italia.
The Bahrain-Victorious leader struggled to hold the pace of Simon Yates in the final kilometers of the stage, but he rode home with Bernal just behind him to gain three seconds on the pink jersey.
Caruso was able to keep his second place in the general classification and still has a good minute lead on Simon Yates.
“Today was one of the hardest stages of this Giro“, said the 33-year-old Italian. “The last hour and a half was really full gas, especially on the last climb it was super hard. Like I expected Yates attacked, and he made a difference on the climb. But I felt good, and I kept my tempo until the finish, and in the end the gap was not so big.
“I couldn’t follow him, so in any case I didn’t have another option. I just had to keep my tempo and when I saw the maglia rosa suffer like me, my morale went up because it was hard for everyone in this moment.”
