Cadel Evans (BMC) has gone from doubtful outsider to serious victory contender in the Giro d'Italia and today he got through another dangerous day and even took the points jersey when he won the sprint of the peloton to take 5th. He heads into the first rest day 2nd overall 29 seconds behind Vinceno Nibali (Astana) in a race which he describes as one full of surprises.

After an illness-plagued 2012 season and a very bad start to the 2013 season, few really believed that the Australian would be able to challenge for the victory in the Giro d'Italia and the BMC leader himself was one of those to take a cautious approach. As a late inclusion to the start list, the 2011 Tour de France winner was more likely to use the Italian grand tour as preparation for another Tour campaign.

9 stages into the race Evans heads into the first rest day 2nd overall only 29 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali and after a modest period the Australian seems to be back to his best. While the route has been challenging, it has not yet entered the high mountains but the BMC leader has given all the little indications that he is once again a very dangerous contender. He finished 6th in yesterday's time trial and was even - by far - the fastest on the final 3km climb to the finish line.

Evans has even had plenty of energy to sprint for the minor placings in a number of stages and today he once again won the sprint in the group of favourites to finish a solid 5th. His many top 10 results have even seen him take over the points jersey from Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and the Australian is now in a good position to take his second win in that competition.

Today he once again managed to get through a dangerous and wet day and an increasingly confident BMC leader can now look back at 9 days of racing in which he has not yet put a foot wrong.

 "Every day has been full of surprises," he said. "You prepare as best for these stages and hope for the best. When a storm comes in and it rains and you are driving your car, you turn your wipers on and you slow down a bit. But in the peloton, that's not the case at all.  It's been a real test of positioning, staying in front, having a bit of luck and no technical problems. So it's been a surprisingly difficult first week."

His BMC team has every reason to have confidence in their leader and the squad seems to work as a well-oiled machine. Riders like Daniel Oss, Danilo Wyss and Stephen Cummings have done a good work to keep him protected on the flat while he has been surrounded by Steve Morabito and Ivan Santaromita on the climbs. Once again the red-clad team did a formidable job to help their leader through another tricky stage.

"The team was around him with Ivan Santaromita and Steve Morabito and also Danilo Wyss and Daniel Oss were helping close the gaps on the last climb," sports director Fabio Baldato said.

After tomorrow's rest day Evans will get his first chance to see just how strong he is in the mountains as the 10th stage contains the race's first summit finish. Starting at 14.15 you can follow the drama on CyclingQuotes.com/live.