Having ended 10th in Wednesday's first summit finish, Cadel Evans (BMC) showed plenty of improvement in today's final mountains stage in Giro del Trentino as he fought hard to finish 5th behind a very strong Vincenzo Nibali (Astana). After a disastrous 2012 season, the 2011 Tour de France winner was happy to see him get back to best just weeks before his start in the Giro d'Italia.

Cadel Evans hoped to leave behind his horrendous 2012 when he lined up in the Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this year after he had seen some positive signs of an improving condition in the Tour of Oman. However, he ended the race greatly disappointed as an overall 22nd place meant that he far behind the best.

Another lackluster performance in the Criterium International forced the Australian to change his plans. Recognizing a lack of racing kilometres, he decided to include the Giro d'Italia in his schedule before he lines up at his major season objective in France this summer.

However, the Australian insisted that the Giro would not just be pure training and he hoped to be among the best in the Italian grand tour. This week's final preparation in the Giro del Trentino has given him plenty of hope that he may actually be right in the mix in May.

Today he showed his usual grit and determination and fought valiantly to minimize his losses to Vincenzo Nibali and he ended up a very strong 5th on the day. The 2011 Tour winner was happy to see some progress but also managed to keep his performance in perspective with his big objectives still some time away.

"I'm just really going at my own rhythm and not watching the other guys," he said. "I'm improving and it's a long way to the end of the Giro and a long way to the start of the Tour and it's even longer to Paris."

Sports director Fabio Baldato knows that Evans has had a hard time due to his struggles last year and in the early part of the season. Hence, he was glad to see Evans' confidence on the rise as a result of the encouraging signs in Trentino.

"This is good for Cadel's morale and for sure he can improve in the next two weeks as we approach the Giro," he said. "Today's final climb was real climb and really hard – 13 km with a steep part of 15 to 20 percent. So he did a great performance."

Unlike Nibali, Evans will not line up in Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Instead he will finalize his preparation for his first participation in the Giro since he ended 5th in the 2010 edition.