After quite a slow start to this year's Giro, the past few Stages in the mountains have been incredibly exciting - and have even provided us with a few surprises, notably with Primoz Roglic losing time on the past two Stages, giving both Nibali and Carapaz quite a commanding position to take the GC over the Slovenian.
Here's my pick of the 3 biggest over-performers so far!
1 | Hugh Carthy (EF - Education First)
Hugh Carthy has been nothing short of a revelation for EF - Education First so far at the Giro, and has definitely taken a monumental step up. Although he's still short of the form required for a real GC challenge, currently sitting in 13th at 14:38 down on the lead, he has put in some exceptional rides over the past few Stages and was 5th yesterday and 4th the day before. The young Lancashire-lad came into the Giro with no pressure on his shoulders, and no expectations at all, and he has really, really thrust himself into the limelight. Potentially a Grand Tour contender for the future?
2 | Richard Carapaz (Movistar)
Looking at the Giro startlist, you would have expected that Mikel Landa would be the Movistar hotshot. In reality, Landa hasn't hit the highs that he previously has done, losing over 3 minutes to Roglic on the 34km-long TT Stage. Carapaz, however, has shown his climbing form is akin to the very best, and currently holds the pink jersey by 1:47 over previous double-winner Vincenzo Nibali. Whether he can keep the jersey on his shoulders until Verona is uncertain, but Movistar have shown their strength and are controlling his lead very, very admirably. It's too early to call though!
3 | Fausto Masnada (Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec)
Even though Androni are simply a wildcard invitational team, they have exceeded all expectations. The biggest over-performer has undoubtedly been Masnada, and I'm really interested to see whether the 25-year old will go on to sign for a World Tour team (Guillo Ciccone, similarly, ended up signing for Trek - Segafredo after a strong Giro performance at Bardiani - CSF). Masnada has already picked up a victory in Stage 6, but has also been a prominent feature in the breakaways, as well as finishing third on yesterday's stage. Overall, he has definitely been the most exciting rider so far this year!