Etixx-Quick-Step rider Bob Jungels has no immediate plans to change from being a powerful time trial rider and climber in the near future, claiming it might be enough to win a grand tour.

Last Tuesday Jungels took over the pink jersey as race leader on the uphill finish to Sestola at the Giro d’Italia, thus proving that his assessment may not be completely off the mark.

“I think it’s impossible to change your body, it’s how you are,” Jungels told VeloNews. “I have a lot of muscles, but that’s also my strength. If there was a flat time trial of 50 kilometres in the last week here, I would be lucky. Now we have mountains, and I am trying to defend myself. Like Bradley Wiggins. It depends on the perspective you have. This Giro, with the three time trials, definitely helped me, but of course now in the mountains, I’m defending myself quiet well, and that’s how I want to continue in the future.”

Still only 23, Jungelsl has years ahead of him to evolve into a grand tour winner Wiggins-style, but he has taken a huge step in this year's Giro. No longer clad in pink, he sits seventh overall in the general classification, 7:57 behind leader Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL – Jumbo), and holds the white jersey by 14:17 over Sebastian Henao (Sky).

Weighing in at around 70-71kg,  he must push harder to cover the passes, but can power through time trial stages. In February, he won the overall of the Etoile de Bessèges thanks to a time trial stage win on the final day of the French race.

As the Giro reaches its climax on the final stages, Jungels will be faced with some of the race’s hardest mountains. Stage 19 includes the 21.3-kilometre ascent to the Colle dell’Agnello to 2,744 meters before the final climb to Risoul on Friday. No doubt, Jungels will test himself to see what is possible for the coming years.

“The Giro’s been a surprise for me, as well. I kind of came here with a classification ambition, but I didn’t know how far I could go. Obviously, I’m really surprised, I’ve seen my strengths and weaknesses over the last weeks. It’s been a really good Giro for me because I’ve learnt many things,” Jungels explained.

What the future holds for the young rider from Luxembourg remains to be seen. It will come down, in part, to discussions between the rider and his team to determine his future goal and deciding upon a strategy to reach these.

“What happens next depends a little on the team’s ambition, but it’s going to be the same program more or less. Maybe it won’t be the Giro, maybe it’ll be the Vuelta a España or the Tour de France, but for the rest, I’m still competitive in the one-week stage races. I have to pick the targets with the team and figure out what’s best for me.”