Carthy finished 23rd in the bunch on Saturday and can thank Louis Vervaeke (Alpecin-Fenix) for his jump in the GC after the Belgian lost time on the final climb of Guardia Sanframondi as Victor Lafay (Cofidis) came out on top of the breakaway to claim his first pro victory.
While now in the top five, British-born Carthy is still 38 seconds off first placed Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ), but is looking to seize the opportunity to make up more ground tonight as the peloton takes on the Campo Felice, where the race will reach its highest point so far in a summit finish.
“This [Saturday] was a calm day mostly, but the end was hard,” Carthy said. “I’m doing fine, though, the legs were OK.
“It was more or less what I expected, there was a bit of tension at the end there, but the uphill was mainly a headwind."
This year's Giro has been one of ebbs and flows for Carthy, as he has been there with the leading group in parts but lost precious seconds to them in others.
But with eight stages now wrapped up, the Englishman has done enough to sit very much still in the mix for the maglio rosa and will be hoping he has the legs for what looms as a tough and crucial day of racing.
“There’ll maybe be a breakaway," Carthy said as he boarded the team bus after Stage 8.
"But either way, it’ll be a fight and it’s a proper GC day."
The 2021 Giro d'Italia continues as the riders tackle the climb from Castel di Sangro to Campo Felice - LIVE, FREE and in HD TONIGHT from 8:05pm AEST on SBS On Demand and 9:15pm AEST on SBS VICELAND.
