Daniel Martinez continues to give the impression that he is behind Tadei Pogachal in this Giro d'Italia, but the Colombian had to settle for second place behind Maglia Rosa on stage 8, the Prati di Tibo.

Following Pogachar's otherworldly run in the Perugia time trial the previous afternoon, the Giro was ready for a Category 1 onslaught to the finish, but the expected acceleration on the steep section after passing the Pietra Camera never materialized.

Pogachar's default setting would not allow him to concede victory to his rivals, as Miguel Indurain once did, but his willingness to contest Saturday's finale in a group sprint encouraged Martinez, who has a solid track record in exactly this type of scenario.

Martinez kicked off for home at about the same time as Pogachar, but after pedaling as hard as he could the first few times, Martinez quickly pulled away by a length to claim his third stage win of the Giro.

Martinez never relented, finishing second ahead of Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R).

"I wanted to give him a fight, but there is no doubt he is far superior. We knew that Rafal Mayka would reel it in for Pogachar." Tadej controlled the last kilometer well and crossed the finish line with ease.

"In the last 2km, I thought, 'Okay, this could be my chance.' I wanted to win the stage, so I focused on Taddeji, but my legs were at their limits in the sprint."

It seems easy, but it's complicated. Pogachar makes everything look so easy. And Martinez, O'Connor, Thomas, and others are already looking to fight for second and third place in Rome. Martinez is currently in second place with 2:40, 18 seconds ahead of Thomas, thanks to the great ride he showed in the Perugia time trial.

Of course, his hold on second place might have been even more emphatic had he not suffered a rear derailleur problem on the summit finish of stage 2 in Oropa. On stage 2, he suffered a rear derailleur problem at the summit finish in Oropa. Since then, Pogachar's maglia rosa appears to be beyond anyone's reach, but he has become an increasingly convincing podium contender.

"He's one of the best in the world, but let's see. The Giro is long. Feeling good so far."

Martinez is in his first season with Bora-Hansgrohe after spending the past three seasons with Ineos. Although he was a lukewarm supporter of the British team, he finished fifth overall in the 2021 Giro and played a key role in defending friend and compatriot Egan Bernal's final overall win.

In July, Martinez returned to the role of luxury domestique in the service of Primos Roglic, but was given the freedom to lead in the Giro. He seized the opportunity, although he may regret the absence of Florian Lipowitz, who was ruled out of his Giro debut by illness after stage 5.

"It's an important loss for us because he's in good shape and a great climber.

Speaking to Cycling News earlier this week, Enrico Gasparotto of Bora-Hansgrohe pointed out that his team won the 2022 Giro with Jai Hindley, even though they did not depart Budapest as favorites to win the race, and He did not completely rule out winning the race.

"Two years ago, I came here with Jai, Wilko (Kelderman), and Emu (Buchman) with the goal of doing well in GC. Of course, Tadei Pogachal is Tadei Pogachal, and he's not a surprise."

Martinez didn't look too far ahead after the warm-down at Prati di Tibo. 'I'm taking it step by step,' he said. There are still a lot of giro's left. There are still a lot of giro's left.