"My confidence is growing," said Joao Almeida (Diesninck-Quick Step), who not only retained his overall lead in the mountainous stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia, but extended it further.

After a rain-soaked ride through the Calabrian mountains, Almeida finished third in a small group sprint before the finish, and his podium finish gave him four bonus seconds from the main GC contenders.

If that wasn't enough to boost his morale, Almeida had already seen his closest GC pursuer, Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling), fade badly on the final climb of the Valrico Montescuro.

As a result, the closest pursuer to Almeida was Pero Bilbao (Bahrain McLaren), who had closed the gap to 43 seconds. Barring disaster, Almeida should hold the overall lead in the Giro at least until next Sunday, when he tackles the tough mountain stage in Rocalasso.

Already the longest-serving leader in his country's history at the Giro d'Italia, the young Portuguese rider said he was mentally prepared to lose the lead on Wednesday but ultimately had good legs throughout the stage.

"I wanted to show by sprinting that I am not on the maglia rosa by accident," he said.

"I have a good gap in GC now and Maria makes me stronger and gives me more confidence.

Almeida said the rain and cold made the tough stages even tougher, but he said he coped well with the bad weather on the second day of the Giro, uttering the familiar adage in cycling that "it's the same for everyone."

Almeida, who spent most of the final climb in the middle of the pack, disagreed with one reporter's claim that it was not a GC day, saying, "It was not easy. The final descent was kind of crazy.

Thanks to his rather large overall advantage, Almeida said the pressure on the top GC positions, while still high, had dropped significantly.

Thanks to a solid climbing performance, Almeida was in a good mood and optimistic." Do you think you can keep the pink until Milan?" to a reporter's question, he replied, "Nothing is impossible today."

And while the possibility of becoming Portugal's first Grand Tour winner still seems remote, having proven that he can not only take the lead on a major mountain stage but also defend it, at least Almeida's chances of winning the overall are certainly lower than they were 24 hours ago.

Regardless of what happens in the remaining 16 stages, Almeida has already quietly made Portuguese cycling history. Not only is he the Portuguese racer to have worn the maglia rosa the longest, but in terms of Grand Tour lead, another day in the pink will equal the four-day yellow stage of his compatriot Acacio da Silva in the 1989 Tour de France.

Two more days in pink would tie the Grand Tour record set by Joaquin Agostinho, the country's greatest racer, who led the Vuelta a España for five days in 1976.