A month ago, Afonso Eulálio was preparing to offer his support services to his Bahrain-Victorious teammates and expecting to cruise through the stage 10 time trial that kicks off the second week of racing at the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.
But a head-turning opening week of racing means that he is now fighting with everything he has to stay in the maglia rosa, despite the odds being stacked against him on parcours that he called 'the worst TT' for riders like himself.
"Today has been quite busy. We started preparing all the things for the TT bike: the helmet and the suit. My plan one month ago was probably that the TT would be a rest day, but now we need to go all in for it," Eulálio said in a press conference held on Monday, the second rest day of the three-week Grand Tour.
"Am I comfortable? Not so much. I tried to improve in this because I am not so good at it. I tried to improve and work a little on this, but not so much, because I came to the Giro for a workerman, a helperman. I had my opportunities in the hard stages in the mountains, and now the things change a little, and we need to go all-in for it."
The Portuguese rider, 24, certainly recognised time trialling as an area he will need to improve if he wants to be a Grand Tour contender in the future. But when asked to rate on a scale of one to ten his capabilities in the discipline compared to the 42km route from Viareggio to Massa, he said, "It depends on the TT. In this TT, it is a super low number, like two or three. There are [different] TTs; some technical, some climbs, some steep climbs. This TT is no corners, fully flat, all about speed, and the worst TT for skinny guys."
Stage 10's time trial will follow a flat and fast course along the beaches of the Tuscany coast, with a loop south of Viareggio and then inland to Massa before finishing on the seafront. Many have suggested that this stage was added to the Giro route to tempt time trialists such as Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who opted not to compete at the Giro, but that the flat profile would not be enough to counterbalance all the climbing - 49,150 metres - and seven summit finishes in this year's edition.
Eulálio expects there to be wind off the coast and for it to be perfectly suited to specialists like Filippo Ganna (Netcompany Ineos) and that Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who is sitting in second overall at 2:24 behind him in the GC standings, will have his chance to move into the overall lead.
"I hope I can defend it, and I will fight for it, but Jonas is super good; he is one of the best riders in the world. He's Jonas. I will do all I have, and I will fight for it," he said.
Even if Eulálio loses the maglia rosa in Massa, he has experienced an opening week to remember; a stage 5 breakaway into Potenza - that included wrong turns and crashes - where he first put on the maglia rosa, and he's fought through the subsequent stages that included mountain top finishes at Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale, both won by Vingegaard.
"The hardest day was the day in the breakaway, but now, in the pink jersey, probably Blockhaus, not only for the climb but for the wind we felt on the climb," Eulálio described his most difficult moments so far, but pointed out that he has recovered well, given the challenges that have presented themselves across the first nine stages of this Grand Tour.
"I think I've responded super good. I responded well after the day in the break; I was tired, it was 200km full, no? Yesterday [stage 9], I already had good legs, but on Blockhaus [stage 7], I felt fatigued. We will see after tomorrow," he said.
"I am not expecting a good TT. I don't know what I can do more over the next two weeks, and the last week will be super hard, also. We have a good team, and we are working super good."
Asked if he anticipates being in the top-10 come Rome, Eulálio said, "When I dressed in the pink jersey, it gave me some power. I don't know what will happen when I lose it. We will see, it's two more weeks, and anything can happen."
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