João Almeida won the maglia rosa in Sunday's Piacavallo with a spirited run in the last six kilometers. Easier said than done.

For the second straight rest day, the 22-year-old attended a race leader's videoconference broadcast from the Detunink-Quickstep bus, and like Abruzzo a week ago, he downplayed his prospects for victory in his first Giro attempt.

"No, I still don't believe it," Almeida said. 'I'll believe it when I start in the pink skinsuit in the last TT. But until then, everything is possible. But until then everything is possible."

Almeida has held the maglia rosa for 13 days in this Giro, and although he had extended his lead to 56 seconds by the second week, the gap to Wilco Kelderman was reduced to 15 seconds thanks to Team Sunweb's strength in Piancavallo.

Despite the reduced buffer, Almeida fought through his toughest stage to date, building his reputation and confidence. He survived the onslaught of Sunweb much better than more experienced riders such as Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) and Jakub Fuglsang (Astana). He then made a brilliant solo run on the climb to finish fourth in the stage and ensure that he would carry the pink jersey into the third week.

"It was tough. I was on the limit the whole last 6km. My goal was to keep the jersey and not to lose as much ground as possible, but I was always on the limit," said Almeida, who admitted that he was surprised by his own performance. Yesterday I was in really good shape. I had my best 40 minutes ever.

Almeida's qualities as a time triallist and climber were already evident in his performances earlier this year, but it was unclear whether he would be able to perform at a consistent level in his first Grand Tour. Until this Giro, he had never raced for more than 10 days.

"I felt very good yesterday, but a rest day is always welcome," said the Italian. I expect week three to be very hard."

Kelderman is within reach of Almeida's pink jersey, while the others are more than three minutes away. Even if Almeida has been unable to fend off Kelderman over the past six days, a podium finish in Milan would be quite a consolation for the neo-professional.

"If I can be as consistent as I've been, I think it's possible, but it's something I've never done in a three-week race, so if I'm not feeling well or not in the right mood, there's nothing I can do," Almeida said. I've never done a three-week race before."

Lemko Evenepoel was named leader of the Detunink-Quick Step team for this Giro d'Italia, but was forced to sit out after a serious crash at Il Lombardia in August. Almeida had a quiet supporting role in the Algarve Volta and Burgos Vuelta.

But the tandem had no intention of competing together in the Giro. Almeida was scheduled to make his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España, which opens on Tuesday, but he was chosen to represent the Giro to make up for Evenpoel's absence. On Monday, he softly dismissed the notion that coexistence with another ambitious young stage racer would be a problem down the road.

"Well, in a normal season, I would be racing the Vuelta, not the Giro," Almeida said. 'I was going to be in the Vuelta, not the Giro,' he said.

"But I don't know what the future holds. I think I can be a helper. I certainly want to be a leader, but I don't have to be. I'm still young and I have a lot to learn. Yeah, with my legs I can be number one, but I don't think I need to be number one."

Almeida, meanwhile, was asked before leaving the zoom call if Portuguese explorers like Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama had inspired his final week's voyage into the unknown, one of the most left-field questions asked at this and other Giro's.

"I'm definitely inspired, but I don't really think about it too much," Almeida replied politely. 'I just try to do the best I can and go as deep as possible.'