Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM) is the revelation of the Giro d'Italia and the first Austrian rider to be so well placed in a Grand Tour after a week of racing. He is shooting for the moon, for the 2026 Giro podium, in the hope of landing somewhere in the stars.
The 28-year-old is performing better than many of the expected GC contenders and better than he expected, but he is also keeping his feet on the ground, knowing there is still a lot of racing to come, including Tuesday's flat 42km time trial, where he could lose significant time to his biggest Jonas Vingegaard.
"I was not expecting to have such a high level on the hard climbs. I'm super happy, but this is how it is for the moment, and there's still a lot to come and a lot of work to do in the next two weeks," Gall said on the rest day in Tuscany.
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"There's not one thing I'm scared of. We're not even halfway through the race, and so much can still happen. We have a very challenging TT coming up; we're going to see quite some gaps. I've heard there are also some riders sick in some teams in the peloton, but that's something we cannot control. But so many things can still happen.
"My goal was to fight from a spot on the podium. That hasn't changed. It's an ambitious goal, and everything has to come together. But a podium in a Grand Tour would be the dream scenario, the next next big step in my career."
Gall is 2:59 down on race leader Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious) but only 35 seconds down on Vingegaard.
Every time the Dane has attacked, Gall has been able to respond or at least limit his losses. Other riders have lost minutes, but Gall is still in contact and arguably Vingegaard's biggest rival at this year's Giro d'Italia.
"It would have been nice maybe to see a little bit of pain in his face, but it was not the case," Gall said of his attack on the climb to Corno alle Scale on Sunday, dismissing any idea that Vingegaard should have let him win the stage after Decathlon rode to chase down the break.
"Jonas has proven over and over again in the last few years that he is the best Grand Tour rider next to Tadej Pogačar. I wouldn't say he has any weaknesses. He has a really strong team; he's punchy compared to the other GC guys. He's really a complete rider.
Gall has clearly enjoyed the Giro so far but faces a race of truth along the Tuscan coast on Tuesday. Vingegaard is a renowned time trialist and so could take the maglia rosa from Eulálio and gain significant time on Gall and the other GC riders.
Gall has worked to improve his time trialling but openly admits he does not like the discipline.
"It's not exactly a strength of mine," he said. "The TT is just about doing my best effort possible. I'm expecting to lose some time to my opponents, but I hope it's not going to be too much."
Gall has tweaked his time trial position even in recent weeks, seeking comfort and sustainable aerodynamics rather than painful speed.
"Now I have a nice position where I'm quite comfortable, and also according to the tests, where I'm actually also faster than before," he said.
"We went a bit steeper with the angle of the cockpit, compared to the position in the UAE Tour at the start of the season.
"It seemed like I had a good and fast position, but then in the race, I struggled to keep my head down, and that is one of the things that matters a lot. I had to work too hard to keep that position and struggled after about an eight-minute effort. Now it feels much more natural, and it should be even a little faster.
"I think it's important in a long-time trial where you pretty much have no corners and where you're in position for such a long time. I know I'm comfortable in this position and that I'm going to be able to push.
"I'm pretty curious about how it's going to go. I'm not expecting any miracles, but I hope it's going to go well."
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