As Bjarne Riis secured the service of the young Pole Rafal Majka two years ago, he never tired of raving about the hitherto little-known talent. "Rafal has a huge potential that he will realise sooner or later. He is a man for the big tours," said the Saxo Tinkoff team boss. A lot of people doubted him, but Riis might have seen more than most observers.

Majka, still only 23, was supposed to wear the captain's armband at last year’s Giro d'Italia. A spanner was thrown in the works, however, as a knee injury caused him many problems. After a long pause, Majka then shone in the Tour de l'Ain and especially at the Vuelta a España, where he was one of the helpers of Alberto Contador in the overall victory. However, his big moment came at this year's Tour of Italy, which he finished in seventh place.

“In February I did not think that I would go to the Giro as captain. This time, however, my injury didn’t look that bad and although I hardly contested a race, at least I trained hard. This has paid off," Majka said in an interview with the Polish cycling portal bikeworld.pl.

Following his performance in the Giro, Majka was divided between satisfaction and exhaustion in his assessment of the race. The Giro grinds you down mentally and physically. It's a damn tough race. Then there were the bad weather conditions. I do not feel good when I have to drive in snow and rain," added Majka.

In the youth classification of the Giro, Majka was narrowly beaten by Carlos Alberto Betancur (AG2R) after a nail-biting duel. Majka is likely to get the chance for revenge in the Tour de Suisse, where he returns to racing after a few rest days.

Majka also plans to take part in the Tour of Poland and to start the Tour of Spain and the World Championships in Florence. The Tour de Pologne and Vuelta a España seem particularly suited to Majka’s abilities as a rider, but he should get along well on the hilly world championship course as well.

”I can promise one thing. I’m going to continue fighting, that’s beyond doubt,” Majka added.