Australian GC contender Michael Storer is predicting some gaps on the opening high mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia on Friday but he is equally certain that the overall battle will not really erupt until much deeper into the race.
The winner of the Tour of the Alps, Storer finished tenth overall in last year's Giro and he's currently lying ninth after an impressive opening week.
Speaking at the stage 6 start, the Tudor Pro Cycling leader pointed out that he had managed to come through the initial challenges well and his GC bid remained more than intact.
But Storer also reminded journalists that although the Tagliacozzo ascent on stage 7 is long it's not overly difficult, except in the very last part, so most likely the fight between the overall contenders will take time to really get going.
"The opening to the Giro has been good for me. I stayed out of trouble, I only lost a little bit of time in the time trial, so it's been a great start," Storer said.
"The time trial in particular was really good, I was super-happy with it. You can do all the work, but then you've still got to do the best race you can on the day."
A double high mountains stage winner in the Vuelta a España back in 2021, Storer said he was pleased to be heading into his kind of terrain, but that - as ever on an opening climbing day in a Grand Tour - there was always a degree of uncertainty as to his actual condition. Only riding in the mountains themselves would provide an answer to that.
"I know it's going to be a hard day on Friday, but the final climb is not super hard," he pointed out. "Only the last two kilometres are difficult, so I don't think we'll see big gaps at the end. I reckon it will be pretty compact."
He agreed that the GC scenario in the 2025 Giro had some similarities to 2024 but the predominance of Tadej Pogačar from stage 2 onwards at Oropa last year had made for a much more structured race overall. Meanwhile, he has to play a waiting game for his moment to come.
"It is a bit annoying because you don't know where you're at exactly. We had a little glimpse in the TT, but we just have to be patient."
But Storer's start to the Giro d'Italia has been a strong one, and there are other reasons for him to be optimistic as well. For one thing, a year on from his last appearance in the race, he he has now enjoyed an extra season with Tudor.
"We've developed heaps as a team, we've been working together 12 months longer," he said, "and we will benefit from that for sure."
