Costa Rican cyclist Andrey Amador surges to 2nd place in Giro d’Italia

Andrey Amador continues to ascend in poll positioning at the 2016 Giro d’Italia. One stage after making a 10-spot leap into the top three overall, the Costa Rican is now in second place after another strong showing at Tuesday’s Stage 10.

Amador looked as if he would take the pink jersey on Tuesday by taking the number one overall spot as he roared through much of the 216-kilometer medium-mountain stage.

Bob Jungels of Luxembourg has the overall lead in the Grand Tour race that will conclude on May 29. Amador remains just 26 seconds behind Jungels in the standings. Jungels’ teammate Gianluca Brambilla, who had the pink jersey coming into the day, sacrificed his spot to fend off Amador and allow Jungels to take the lead.

Jungels’ teammate Gianluca Brambilla, who had the pink jersey coming into the day, sacrificed his spot to fend off Amador and allow Jungels to take the lead.

The Costa Rican finished sixth for the day with a time of 5 hours 46 minutes and 42 seconds.

Amador clearly feels comfortable in the Italian climate as he is just one year removed from finishing fourth in the race that is widely considered the second most competitive international cycling race behind the Tour de France.

The Giro d’Italia continues Wednesday as the 212-kilometer Stage 11 takes riders from Modena to Asolo. Amador’s Movistar teammate, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde, is third in the overall rankings and just 24 seconds behind the Tico.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Andrey Amador finished third in last year’s Giro d’Italia. That is incorrect. He actually finished fourth. We regret the error.