In 2013 Riccardo Zoidl marked himself out as a future stage race specialist and the results both earned him a contract with Trek and a spot on the team's roster for the Giro d'Italia. The Austrian is mainly at the race to learn and support Robert Kiserlovski but hopes to get a personal opportunity later in the race.

Riccardo Zoidl became a household name in the cycling world when he beat several WorldTour stars to win the Tour of Austria last summer, just weeks after he had taken the win in his national championships. Those results were no fluke as the rider from the small Gourmetfein-Simplon team dominated several stage races to secure himself the overall victory in the UCI Europe Tour.

The performances made him a hot topic on the transfer market and it was the Trek team that won the battle for his coveted signature. In his first few months at the highest level, he has already shown his great potential, finishing third in the Tour Med, his first race with his new team.

Unfortunately, a broken collarbone sustained in the Strade Bianche set him back, but Zoidl surprised many when he made his comeback in the Tour de Romandie. An excellent performance in the final time trial allowed him to finish 12th overall in his first ever WorldTour race.

These days he is making his grand tour debut in the Giro d'Italia but he has no GC ambitions during his first experience in a three-week race. Instead, it is all about support for in-form GC leader Robert Kiserlovski and maybe a personal opportunity on a mountainous day later in the race.

"I am here to learn," he told CyclingQuotes in Armagh. "Of course I will try to stay with the best but I am mainly here to support Robert Kiserlovski. I am not the one to do the hard work though. I will try to be there in the mountains and maybe I will get an opportunity that I will try to exploit."

Zoidl has been pleased with his first experiences riding at WorldTour level

"It has been pretty relaxed and I feel good in this team," he said. "Last year I was one of the best and now I have to work my way up through the ranks again but I definitely don't regret that I chose this team."

As expected, Zoidl has already lost plenty of time and heads into the second rest day in 57th overall.