The 24-year-old came home with the maglia rosa group on Montevergine di Mercogliano.
Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia traveled through the beautiful Campania, but the riders didn't have any time to enjoy the stunning scenery, because the race was on from kilometer zero, when several men unleashed a flurry of attacks to make it into the breakaway. Elia Viviani was among those to slip away, as the Italian's plan was to fight at the intermediate sprints and extend his lead in the points classification, but the bunch responded each time and nullified the moves.
It was only after 40 kilometers that a group got away, and when it happened, eight riders found themselves at the front, with a gap which quickly nudged out to six minutes. The peloton looked content with that move and took it easy, giving the impression they weren't interested in the stage win, but a sudden change of pace with 30 kilometers to go showed the true intentions of the pack, who caught the escapees one by one on the 17.1km-long Montevergine di Mercogliano.
On this steady climb, Richard Carapaz (Movistar) made his winning acceleration inside the last two kilometers, arriving at the finish with a handful of seconds on the vastly reduced field. Maximilian Schachmann was part of the maglia rosa group, despite suffering in the cold and torrential rain which added to the difficulty of the stage, and the result he got at the end of the day fed his confidence for the next two weeks.
"It was a hard day, with slippery roads and a big tempo on the climb, but Eros did a great job in placing me in a good position with seven kilometers to go and I must thank him for that. I was also fortunate to keep both wheels on the ground when Froome crashed just in front of me. My legs didn't have the best sensations, but I fought to be there and I'm happy to see that I could stay with the GC favourites", said Grand Tour debutant Max after finishing 12th on the second-category climb, which featured for the fifth time in history on the Giro d'Italia route.
The first week will come to a conclusion on Sunday, when the peloton will tackle Gran Sasso, where the general classification could witness further changes. For Quick-Step Floors' Elia Viviani, it will be the seventh consecutive day in the cyclamen jersey.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
