Former Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) has had a difficult start to the season but right from the beginning of this year's Giro d'Italia he seems to be back to his best. Today he finished 3rd behind Enrico Battaglin and Fabio Felline in the fourth stage of the race and took back the mountains jersey after having lost it one day earlier.

Giovanni Visconti is a rider perfectly suited to the Ardennes classics and he was expected to play a key support role for team leader Alejandro Valverde in the big one-day races this year. Hence, many were surprised to see the former Italian champion fail to play a prominent role in Belgium and the Netherlands as the Italian clearly struggled to find his best form.

Right from the beginning of this year's Giro d'Italia the Movistar rider seems to be back to his best. On the first stage in Naples he was part of the day's early break and was rewarded by a short stint in the blue mountains jersey. Yesterday he lost his lead to Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil) but still managed to play a very visible role throughout the day and he only lost contact with the lead group on the final descent.

Today he was once again a protagonist. Taking points at the top of both of the stage's categorized climbs he took back the blue jersey from Wauters and when the peloton powered towards the finish line at the end of the stage, the Movistar rider managed to sprint to 3rd behind Enrico Battaglin and Fabio Felline.

Despite the near-miss Visconti is happy to put a difficult time behind him.

“It's sad, because when you know you're fast and there's a finish like today's, you get furious by losing such an opportunity," he said. "I have went through a period of time where things didn't go well, and it became hard to believe in myself and my chances, but this Giro start is making me start regaining that confidence."

Visconti had no excuses for his failure in today's sprint and wrote it down to his own fear in the treacherous and wet final.

I made a mistake today by entering the cobbles in bad position, a bit scared due to the wet roads," he explained. "When I found a way to progress in the finale, Paolini went in front of me and it was impossible to get back. The important thing is that I'm back in good shape, and I hope to keep it for as long as possible."

Visconti will get another opportunity in tomorrow's fifth stage which once again seems to be one suited to his characteristics. Starting at 14.15 you can follow all the action on CyclingQuotes.com/live.