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Bais was part of a four-man breakaway that slipped away from the peloton early in the 218-kilometre stage from Capura to Gran Sasso d'Italia. The Italian claimed the win after six hours, eight minutes and 40 seconds in the saddle, almost all of it climbing.
Breakaway companions Karel Vacek (Corratec-Selle Italia) and Simone Petillia (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) finished second and third, nine and 16 seconds behind Bais.
No one expected the day's winner to come from the breakaway, which initially included Henok Mulubrhan (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè).
Against all odds, a lead of three minutes grew to more than 11. As the finish line at the top of a steep and snowy Campo Imperatore was approaching, the expected reaction of the peloton never came.
In the last 500 metres, and after over 4,000 metres of climbing, the three remaining escapees were still all together. Bais proved the strongest of the trio and dropped his competition on the final, steep metres of the iconic Campo Imperatore finish.
“When we started, no one thought we had any chance of getting there, not even us," said Bais at the finish line which had previously crowned Marco Pantani, in 1999, and Simon Yates, in 2018.
"I had gone in the breakaway to try to get some points in the climbers’ classification and to be supportive of [teammate Lorenzo] Fortunato. Then the kilometres passed and we realised that there was a chance to get there, so I tried to save myself to give everything in the final.
"I still have to realise what happened, I’m living a beautiful moment. It's my first victory as a pro and I looked for it with all my strength."
25-year-old Bais had not won a major race as a junior or Under-23. His previous best professional finishes include eighth at the Coppa Bernocchi and eighth at the Giro del Veneto, both last year and both single-day races.
"In the last kilometre, I tried to always keep the wheels of Petilli who was the strongest on the climb, then I waited for the last metres to sprint. I want to dedicate it to Arturo Gravalos, to my girlfriend and family, and to the whole team because we are a team that works well and we really wanted to win," Bais said.
The win is a stand-out moment for the EOLO-Kometa team whose staff include Grand Tour icons Ivan Basso as Sport Manager and Alberto Contador as Manager.
"At the end, Ivan Basso and I hugged each other and he was so happy too, Ivan and Alberto Contador have always been my idols and to have them on the team is an incredible thing.
"What did I think at the finish line? It’s a dream.”
There were no big changes to the general classification, with Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) retaining his overall lead. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) was the best of the rest, finishing the stage in fourth in a select group including other GC contenders, three minutes and ten seconds behind Bais.
Watch Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia LIVE tonight from 7:40pm (AEST) on SBS On Demand and SBS VICELAND.
