Francesco Manuel Bongiorno had a very good first season in the professional ranks and did his first grand tour at the Giro d'Italia. In 2014 he plans to return to his home grand tour and hopes to be in contention for the white jersey and a stage win.

After showing his strength as a climber in the youth ranks, expectations were high for Francesco Manuel Bongiorno when he turned professional with the Bardiani team in 2013. On a team mostly made up of young riders, there was room for the talented Italian to take his own chances and so he did in his first season against the best riders in the world.

He started his season well with a 7th place in the Coppi e Bartali race and rode his first grand tour at the Giro later in the spring. He got through his first three-week race and that served him well later in the season when he was 5th in the Tour of Denmark and 3rd in the Settimana Lombarda and shone in some of the biggest Italian one-day races with a 2nd place in the Tre Valli Varesine and 5th in the Giro dell'Emilia.

The first win eluded him but Bongiorno is happy to have proved that he is competitive against the best riders in the world. His showing in Emilia drew extra attention and he was positively surprised to be so close to beating Diego Ulissi who was almost invincible at the end of the season.

"It was really exciting, but not easy," he told Cyclingmole. "Ulissi was very strong, we tried to attack him several times but at the end he deserved the victory. However, I was honoured to fight against him on the San Luca climb."

However, it is another performance that he rates as his best of the year.

"Tre valli Varesine," he said when asked to name his best race. "I was second behind [Kristijan] Durasek. I attacked with 1.5 km to go as we had planned with my sport director. I was very close to win an important italian classic and for a neopro that was a solid performance."

In the Tour of Britain, Bongiorno got the chance to race against some of the best riders in the world. At one point he found himself riding alone with Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana.

"It was a strange feeling," he said. "When Quintana attacked, I asked myself :”Oh my God, I ride alone with Quintana….Real or a dream??” At the Tour of Britain I had the chance to ride against top world riders like him, Wiggins, Daniel Martin. It was an important experience for my future growth."

In 2014 Bongiorno will return to the Giro. With more experience, he could even be in contention for the title of best young rider in the race.

"I’m training a lot to be competitive for a good result in the Giro," he said. "If I’ll be close to win the white jersey, I will try to be ready."

However, his main goal is to win his first race and he has red-circled some big races on the calendar.

"My goals are to repeat last season’s results and improve my performances," he said. "I dream to win few races that are suitable for my skills.

I love Giro dell’Emilia but it is in October so I hope to win earlier," he added. "It is very difficult to get a win in the professional category. Another dream, like for all Italian riders, is to win a stage at Giro d’Italia. It could be amazing for me and my team."

Bongiorno is the kind of rider that both excels on longer climbs and on short, explosive ones. While he prefers the latter, he is trying to improve his resistance on the biggest mountains.

"I love short climbs because I have a very explosive attack, but I like the long climbs too," he said. "I’m training a lot to improve my quality on the long climb."

Those characteristics could see Bongiorno confirm his potential by winning a big one-day race in 2014. And if things go his way, he may even end up on the Giro d'Italia podium in Trieste with the white jersey on his shoulders.