Saturday’s testing, hilly individual time trial saw Robert Gesink (Blanco) move into third overall with an impressive effort, placing him at 1’15” behind overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) as the Giro moves into a mouth-watering second week of racing.

While evidently satisfied with his performance and his podium place after the first week of racing, Gesink will be making the mistake of taking anything for granted.

"A time trial such as this is always brutal but I think I can be very pleased with the result," the Dutchman explained. "It felt good right from the start and I was able to maintain my revolutions at a good pace. The first week has gone well. We've been up front as a team at the right moments and like the rest of the lads, I am in good form. In a Grand Tour, I take it day by day. For the moment, it's going well and I hope it stays that way.”