Even though he lost some precious seconds in the individual time trial, Esteban Chaves is one of the favourites to finish on the podium of the 99th Giro d'Italia.

Team Sky sports director Dario Cioni told Velonews about the Orica-GreenEDGE rider.

"Watch Chaves. Keep an eye on him, he’s going to surprise many."

The Colombian climber suffered a terrible crash in February 2013 at the Trofeo Laguiglea. The 2011 Tour de L'Avenir winner badly hurt his arm ligaments, to the point where he has had some difficulty using his arm even this year.

"I don’t mind the focus, I’m happy just to ride my bike. I’m happy to be in the Giro, it’s a victory to start it. I’m calm. The most important thing is to enjoy it. I am just racing my bike, there’s not point to put pressure on myself. Experience is a big factor. We tried to do the best, cover everything we could. 

In Sunday's ITT, Chaves had started really well but faded, finishing 3:48 down on Primoz Roglic (LottoNL Jumbo).

"We worked on my position on the time trial bike. I did about seven hours a week of training on my bike a week. The Australians are great with time trials, they come from the track and know how to get all the details right. All the prep", he told before the stage.