In 2015 Steven Kruijswijk (currently riding for Team LottoNL-Jumbo) needlessly lost more than eight minutes on the rolling road to La Spezia on stage 4 in the Giro d’Italia. However, in the final week he put on a fine display to finish in eighth place on general classification, 10:53 behind the pink jersey of Alberto Contador, but less than eight minutes off a place on the final podium.

This year, accordingly, Kruijswijk started this year's Giro determined not to lose unnecessary time in the opening two weeks of racing.

Kruijswijk was watchful on Tuesday as the race split up on the Calabrian coast on the Giro’s first stage in Italy, securing a favourable position near the front of the group of favourites on the final climb of the Fortino, and even managing to slip off the front in the company of fellow countryman Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) at the finish to eventually place third on the stage.

“I was looking forward to the stage: it was a little test for me, to see where my place is in this moment. I just tried to be in front on the climb and I was really good. There were no troubles on the climb or in the final,” Kruijswijk told Cyclingnews afterwards.

The time bonus he gained for his third place in Praia a Mare meant that Kruijswijk moved up to fourth overall, 24 seconds down on the restored race leader Dumoulin.

“I was sitting on Tom’s wheel because I knew he was strong and then suddenly he tried to ride away in the last k and I followed him,” he said. “I knew Tom wasn’t going to pull me to the stage win and I saw Ulissi was a little bit too far. The only thing I could do was try to ride, but the most important thing was that I got through the day pretty well and the team supported me well through the day.”

Unlike most of his countrymen who are enamoured by the Tour de France, Kruijswijk actually prefers the Giro.

“It’s more unpredictable and that’s more my style of racing, I think. On Tuesday, you could see from the road book that the final was up and down, but in reality it was even harder than it seemed,” he said. “I can do more of my own thing in races like this and I like that. I like the style of racing in Italy.”

While Dumoulin is currently the man in the limelight, Kruijswijk still relishes his own prospects. The 28-year-old was reluctant, however, to pinpoint a specific goal.

“I don’t have a number in my mind but I want to be in the top ten for sure,” Kruijswijk said. “Last year I lost a lot of minutes in the first week so I have to make sure I don’t do that again. Then in the final week, it’s not going to be about seconds anymore, it’s going to be about minutes. I want to be good there but it’s important to stay focused on these kind of stages, they can be dangerous. But in the end, I could be 8th and satisfied or I could be 8th and not satisfied.”

Thursday’s long tow to Rifugio Aremogna at Roccaraso is likely to witness the next major confrontation between the podium contenders at this Giro, but Kruijswijk – mindful of the lessons of 2015 – warned that nothing is ever uncomplicated in the Giro.

“Thursday is the first uphill finish but I have to be sharp every day, even in a sprint stage,” he said. “It’s every day and that’s the thing about being a GC rider at the Giro: you can never lie back and think I can have a day off. That’s only for the rest days.”