Thomas Silva, the Uruguayan talent determined to make his mark

Confidence in his abilities and remarkable composure. At just 24, XDS Astana rider Thomas Silva has written Uruguay into Giro d’Italia history, claiming his country’s first-ever stage win only on the second day an Uruguayan rider has competed in the Corsa Rosa.

“I’d rather go down in history for achieving something than simply for taking part,” he said on Thursday, on the eve of the Corsa Rosa rolling out in Bulgaria. And he certainly delivered.

An exotic start for someone who has built his life 13,000 kilometres from home, as his father pointed out, visibly moved, at the finish line in Veliko Tarnovo, where he proudly followed his beloved ‘Thomi’. An unimaginable leap just seven years earlier, when he was still racing in the blue and yellow colours of Club Ciclista Maldonado.

From Uruguay to Europe, chasing a dream

The chance to stand out in European racing came in 2019 through the Fundación Ciclismo Laciana, based in the León town of Villablino, in north-western Spain. Silva, then still sporting long hair and a prominent moustache as a sign of his youth, was dominating in his home country – national elite champion at just 19 – and starting to shine in Europe, a progression briefly halted by Covid but resumed the following year.

“To grow, I knew I had to move abroad,” he recalled a couple of years ago. “Ever since I left, turning professional was a dream. That door opened with me and now we’re more visible in cycling.” A breakthrough he currently shares with only one other Uruguayan, Eric Fagúndez (Burgos Burpellet BH), who was among the first to congratulate him on Saturday.

The 2022 season, with several strong results in the Copa de España, caught the attention of Caja Rural, who signed him for their amateur squad in 2023 and quickly – after he won the Copa de España elite and U23 – promoted him to the professional team, where he made his debut in August.