In his second ever Giro, the Colombian is doing pretty well. Four stages into the Italian grand tour, including one very tough finale on stage 4 (where he finished ninth) and a solid, if not astounding, opening time trial, the haves is presently lying tenth overall, trailing race leader Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) by 37 seconds.

Last year, Chaves finished 55th in the GC as the Giro ended in Milan. However, the Vuelta a España was another story entirely. Chaves took fifth place in Madrid following a spell in the lead and two stage wins.

With Caleb Ewan on the prowl for stage wins, Chaves is going into battle for the general classification, defending the Orica-GreenEdge colours. He opened his Giro tally placing 33rd in the opening time trial.

“I'm doing well, I like the hotter, more humid weather we've got here and I hope it's going to continue like that,” he told a group of reporters according to Cyclingnews. “Stage 4 wasn't at all straightforward, there was a very difficult last 40 kilometres, and I'm pleased I've got through it well. We were initially expecting a bunch sprint, but after they changed the route those last climbs made it much more difficult.”

When speaking about his prospects for the Giro, however, Chavez took a cautious approach.

“I'm not looking too far ahead, simply getting through it on the day by day. Stage by stage.”

His aim is, like that of the team, “to be competitive throughout the three weeks. If I achieve that, I'll be happy. Another objective will be with Caleb, going for the bunch sprints.”