As Joao Almeida passed through the mixed zone atop Piacavallo after stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia, he must have faced at least five of the same questions. Joan Almeida had the same answer each time: "It was the hardest stage I've ever done.

It is certain that the recent bias did not reflect in Almeida's answers. On Saturday in Valdobbiadene, Almeida rode solidly against the clock and extended his overall lead to almost a minute. Just 24 hours later, he was again forced to ride alone on the slopes of Piancavallo, and he rode the last 6km alone to defend his Maria Rosa, 15 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb).

On the final climb, the Sunweb team led by Kelderman chipped away at Chris Hamilton's pink jersey group and was replaced by Jai Hindley with just over 7km to go. Strong riders such as Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) and Jakob Hulsang (Team Astana) were away at that point, but the novice Almeida was behind Hindley, Kelderman, and the final stage winner, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers). Almeida was able to keep up with Hindley, Kelderman, and final stage winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers).

Almeida lost contact shortly thereafter, but never let up, even if the wide road from Aviano to Piancavallo seemed to emphasize the solitude of his efforts. For most of the ascent, Almeida saw his prey ahead, and for several kilometers the gap remained steady at around 10 seconds. Almeida stalled as he approached the summit, but with a few meters to go, he sprinted and crossed the finish line in fourth place, 37 seconds behind the leader.

"I thought someone was going to attack, and then Kelderman attacked. He was stronger today," Almeida said. The race resumes Tuesday with a tough stage to Madonna di Campiglio.

Given Kelderman's strength, the difficult road ahead, and his own inexperience, Almeida admitted that it would be difficult to hold onto the jersey until next Sunday in Piazza Duomo.

"I'll do my best," Almeida said." Almeida said, "I know it will be next to impossible to bring Maria Rosa to Milan, but I will do my best.

Almeida's lead over Kelderman has been reduced to just 15 seconds, but the gap to the rest of the field is growing. The impressive Hindley is now third at 2:56, one second ahead of Geoghegan Hart; others, including Nibali, who dropped to seventh at 3:29, are more than three minutes behind. Almeida said after the race that he had a good day.

"It was a really positive day for me," Almeida said. "I had a really good rhythm from the first climb. But there were stronger riders up there. There are still six stages to go and I've never ridden a stage this long before, but so far I'm feeling good. I'm looking forward to seeing how far I can go."