Fabio Aru may have been narrowly beaten in the Giro TT but the 23 year old was anything but disappointed at the finish line, after his effort almost certainly guaranteed him a place on the podium in Trieste on Sunday.

He sits just 41 seconds behind second placed Rigoberto Uran and sits comfortably in third, 1:38 ahead of Pierre Rolland.

"It was a huge effort, I was right at my limits for an hour. I'm tired now but obviously very happy," he said after waving to the Sardinian fans who had also climbed Cima Grappa to cheer him on.

"I never thought I'd be on the podium at the Giro d'Italia. I've worked hard all winter and made a lot of sacrifices and so it's paid off. But doing so well is new to me. It's been great to do so well in front of my fans, family and girlfriend from Sardinia. That gave me some extra strength and motivation on the climb today."

Aru has brought a much needed ray of sunshine to Italian cycling after only Vincenzo Nibali’s win in the Giro had previously been something to celebrate amongst all of the poor results and doping problems. Aru is not sitting back though and was quick to point out that he still has to get up the fearsome Monte Zoncolan tomorrow.

"I'm young but I've learned that stage races aren’t over until you cross the line on the final day, so you've always got to be careful," he said.

"I'm really happy for this result but I've got to stayed focused for tomorrow's finish on Monte Zoncolan. It's a legendary climb but it's also very hard. We've got some suffering left to get through."

However, if the trend of form continues, Aru may not just be on the podium, but he may even be second.