Afonso Eulálio's smile and bright white jersey on the podium at Piancavallo, and Davide Piganzoli's air of pride but also disappointment, said it all as the dust settled on the jersey classifications of the Giro d'Italia.
Visma-Lease a Bike had given the young Italian a free role for the stage, so he could try to distance Eulálio on the climb to Piancavallo and snatch the best young rider's white jersey.
However, the Bahrain Victorious rider again excelled, even managing to drop Piganzoli during the 14.5km climb and in the surge to the line.
Eulálio will ride into Rome in white on Sunday, with a lead of 1:13 on Piganzoli. Mathys Rondel (Tudor) is third at 5:33.
"I was motivated today, but I was also relaxed and focused," Eulálio said, getting a celebratory hug from teammate Mathijs Paasschens while speaking, as Bahrain Victorious celebrated their successful Giro.
"Friday's stage was really tough, I think one of the hardest in the modern history of the Giro, so I wasn't hopeful, but everyone in the team told me I could do it. The team always believed in me, perhaps more than I believed in myself. I realised that I had kept the jersey in the last kilometre, after Damiano Caruso helped me so much."
Eulálio is one of the revelations of this year's Giro, after his nine days in the maglia rosa and sixth place overall.
"This Giro has changed my career, but it hasn't changed me," he said.
"I thought finishing in the top ten of the Giro was incredible and out of this world. It is. But now I've finished sixth overall, wore the maglia rosa for a long time and won the white jersey too. This Giro has been incredible for me."
Piganzoli admitted that the white jersey would have been the cherry on the top of his and Visma-Lease a Bike's Giro d'Italia cake, but he still celebrated Vingegaard's overall victory, which was also his victory.
"We started the day with the goal of winning the stage, taking the maglia rosa to Rome and of trying to win the white jersey. We've achieved two out of three, so we have to be very happy," Piganzoli said.
"I produced one of my best-ever rides on the climb, and so I can't complain; I can only congratulate Eulálio.
"We started the climb full gas, and then I had to ease up a little bit. I caught Eulálio and knew I had to go all out, as I've always done on the climbs, but I just wanted to finish the stage."
23-year-old Piganzoli hails from Morbegno in the Lombardia and Valtellina mountains and is a compatriot and friend of fellow future Italian talent Giulio Pellizzari.
Piganzoli was often Vingegaard's last mountain domestique, earning huge praise and confirming his own stage racing potential in the last three weeks.
"I have no regrets. It was a dream to try to win the white jersey. It didn't happen this time, but it's still a goal," he concluded.
"I'm happy about my Giro and hopefully about what I can do in the future."
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our coverage of the Corsa Rosa. Enjoy unrivalled reporting from our team of journalists on the ground, including breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage as it happens, plus access to the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.
