With only three events in his legs followed by a block of demanding training at altitude and Michele Scarponi as an appointed Astana captain, young Fabio Aru shouldn’t be regarded as a main contender to take the spoils at the Giro del Trentino. However, the 23-year old Sicilian-born rider is certainly the one the watch every time when the road begins to climb, and there are plenty of such in 2014 edition of the Italian four-day event.

Scarponi will be Astana captain for the Giro d’Italia, but apart from fighting for a best possible result in the general classification the 34-year old Italian will be responsible for grooming young Aru for the future leadership in grand tour events.

Thus, the 23-year old Astana rider is expected to shadow Scarponi throughout the whole three weeks of the season’s first grand tour race with a chance for a good result in the general classification, as well as to chase his own chances.

Aru admitted that he is satisfied with preparations he has undergone at the altitude training camp in Tenerife and seemed unconcerned by having only nine days of racing in his legs when the Giro del Trentino kicked off yesterday.

“I stayed on the Mount Teide for a fortnight together with the team and trained well enjoying favourable weather conditions. I’m feeling fine, I prepared well throughout the whole winter,” Aru told Tuttobiciweb.

“I rode the Volta a Catalunya and now we enter a crucial part of my season with a Giro d’Italia as the major objective, where we start with Scarponi as a captain to whom I need to stay close.”

Asked whether he won’t pay a price for racing so little earlier this year, the Sicilian-born rider expressed his trust in decisions made by Astana to save the young climber exclusively for season’s most important events.

“These were decisions made by trainers and the staff, and there is particular schedule behind it. We did a lot of work in training blocks with a team, including simulations of short stage races. I’ve joined ‘pros’ quite recently and I haven’t used to ride a lot, Astana prefer to keep their young riders for the big events,” Aru explained.

“I am calm and my morale is good, but while facing a long three weeks of racing, anything can happen.”

While having his mind already set on the Giro d’Italia, Aru aims to use the Giro del Trentino as his final build-up for the Italian grand tour event and to test his current disposition on the three demanding mountain stages in Dolomites.

“It’s an important test, especially in the perspective of the Giro, but from the first climbs in Trentino I’ll be able to assess my current condition and as a result, what I’m able to achieve.”