As in the Etna stage, Ineos Grenadier was one of the few top GC teams on Friday's mountain stage in southern Italy to take on the biggest climbs in order to keep its rivals on their toes. And as a strategy, the team later claimed that it worked.

"This stage was a day to wear out our rivals," Ineos Grenadier deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth told a small group of reporters after the finish in Potenza on stage 7, which climbed more than 4,500 meters.

"It was a long day with a lot of climbing in the early stages, but I think everyone on GC is waiting for the big stage on Sunday."

British team Giro leader Richard Kalapas made a brief move during the stage's unusually long early skirmish and, according to the official race report, entered a breakaway with teammate Honatan Narvaez for about 8km.

But after the first 90 km of wrangling, the day's break finally settled down, and the Ineos Grenadiers riders formed a long line in the main group and maintained a high pace.

"It was all about breaking and making the right break," Ellingworth explained.

"I thought it would be interesting to see Trek racing at the back of the pack. I thought it was interesting when Trek was racing at the back of the pack.

"Morale is high and it's good to see young Ben Tullett learning the know-how from the older guys in his first Grand Tour. It's perfect for us."

On the downside for Ineos Grenadiers, according to Ellingworth, the team's superdomestique, Jonathan Castroviejo, crashed hard in the middle of the stage but was able to finish the stage in Gruppetto. His possible injuries from the crash will be evaluated later this evening.

Ellingworth, however, said that team GC leader Karapas is in good condition and ready for Sunday's climb up the Brockhaus and the crucial second half of the Giro.

"Everything is always important in the last half of the Giro, but tomorrow [Naples] is nervous and tricky. You can never relax on any stage of the Giro. That's just the way it is."