Damiano Caruso slumped to the ground beyond the finish line in Andalo on stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia, the pain of spending 135km in the breakaway and finishing third suddenly catching up with him.
Caruso has already confirmed he will retire at the end of the season, after 17 seasons as a professional. He will turn 39 in October, and the Italian statisticians quickly highlighted that only Gino Bartali was older at 39 and ten months when he finished second on a stage in 1954.
Caruso did not seem to feel his years as he raced for the stage victory, riding hard, chasing moves and digging deep, all with the benefit of also moving back up the GC to ninth overall.
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"To feel these emotions today is pretty special," Caruso said just seconds after finishing the stage and still fighting for his breath.
"My legs weren't great, but I'm old and stubborn, so I went for it anyway."
"It was a nice day out front. It was hard, really hard, because the stage was long, with quite a bit of climbing. Valgren deserved it because when everyone is tired, you just need a crumb of energy to make a difference. But I'm happy and proud of myself."
Caruso played a vital mentoring and support role for Bahrain Victorious teammate Afonso Eulálio as he wore the maglia rosa between stages 6 and 14.
He earned his freedom to target stage victories.
"I came to the Giro to help the team but also to have days like this," Caruso said.
"I could have perhaps targeted a stage earlier in the race but we had the maglia rosa and I was happy to help Afonso.
"I asked to go for it today and the team gave me the OK and even helped me. It worked out pretty good. If I've got anything left, I'll try again before Rome."
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