The unusual case of Damiano Caruso, on the brink of Giro d'Italia glory (podium or even overall were something to befall Bernal):
A pro since 2009, he joined the big boys' league in 2011 at Liquigas (yes, those years).
His biggest wins have all been Team Time Trials with BMC, which he joined in 2015.
Damiano is the archetypal gregario (domestique, if you like).
His history has a dark side too: he was found doping and instead of been given a suspension, they punished him retroactively and simply cancelled his 2011 results. Well, for a gregario that's absolutely ridiculous, so he only lost the 4th overall at the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria, a 6th at Gran Premio Città di Camaiore and a 7th place at the Japan Cup, while keeping fit at the top level... so he must have had a pretty good legal team.
However, second chances and all.
Since then he has grown into an experienced and indispensable team player and this is his main strength at this Giro. He has never been in a situation where his leader had to leave a Grand Tour this early on (Landa crashed out on stage 5). He found himself still up in the overall and took the chance by the horns. He knows how to pace himself and who to follow, because of his role in chaperoning leaders all these years.
Unless the pressure gets to him, and it is always a possibility, he is on course for a podium place. Bernal is on a different league/level but anything can happen and he could well end up as the overall winner of the race.
He rides for Bahrain, and for me, that's a problem but pro cycling being what it is, he's at least a likeable character in the peloton. His strength is invisibility. Unless you're really looking out for him, he's pretty stealthy, and that works inside the peloton as well, a trait learnt with his regular job.
Whatever happens, Landa's leadership is not threatened by the 33-year-old Italian workhorse, but the Basque rider has thrown toys out of the pram every two years for failing to win anything, so as his two years at Bahrain are up...
