If until last year he could still be considered an outsider, now Michael Storer is effectively one of the men to watch when the road starts to climb. In the last two editions of the Giro d'Italia he has reached tenth place, managing to hold his own against the big teams and almost silently carving out the space he deserves. Now the Australian from Team Tudor, but with an Italian heart, returns to the Giro with the concrete objective of competing for the general classification, but also of trying to secure a stage victory, a dream he has been nurturing for some years now, but which he has never managed to achieve.

Fifteen days ago he finished the Tour of the Alps in fourth place, once again demonstrating his ability to stay with the best riders like Pellizzari, Bernal and Arensman, all opponents he will face at the Giro. "I feel very good, after the Tour of The Alps I was a bit tired, but I think that's normal, it was a very hard race that however allowed me to test myself. At the Giro I want to improve myself, after two years of finishing tenth I believe I can take a step further, I'm ready. I dream of winning a stage, but I realize that doing both things is very difficult and will require a great expenditure of energy," explained Storer, who is starting his Giro with the concrete objective of improving on his tenth place finish in the general classification, but also of trying to win a stage. Certainly the general classification will have priority over everything, but you know, if he manages to stay up front with the best riders, a daily success could be more within reach.

Unlike last year, Michael has raced almost exclusively in Italy. After the UAE Tour we saw him at the start of Laigueglia, Milano Torino, Tota and Tirreno Adriatico. A new choice made by the team that wanted him strongly in the race of the two seas, but also a way, as he explains to us, to get used to Italian roads which are quite different from French ones. However, this is not the only novelty for the Australian rider, who this year seems to have much more attention within the peloton, a nice step up in quality, but also the awareness that he will absolutely not have an easy time. "I believe that compared to other years something will change, I've achieved some results and the peloton knows me. On one hand it's good because it means I've improved a lot, but on the other hand it means I'll have less freedom and fewer opportunities to surprise my opponents. In some ways it's nice to be a less well-known rider because you have much more freedom, you can attack much more easily and maybe get into some race tactics and find yourself with the pink jersey for a day, but now I can say I'm at the Giro with a big precise objective."

Team Tudor presents itself at the start with a united squad ready to support Storer for his general classification ambitions, but also to battle in the sprints with Luca Mozzato and Robin Froidevaux. "Certainly in the flat stages I will rely on my faster teammates also to try to stay up front, but in the team we have many strong guys like Fabian Lienhard, Larry Warbasse, Will Barta and Florian Stork who will give me a great hand and then there's Mathys Rondel who like me will try to compete for the general classification, we'll try to support each other," continues Storer. In the general classification, at least for the top positions the games seem already decided with the Visma Lease a Bike squad of Vingegard and the Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe of Pellizzari and Hindley calling the shots. However, the Giro is long and for the final victory there could be other contenders who are often underestimated. "The Netcompany Ineos team could be a third party in the fight for the general classification, they have Bernal and Arensman who are doing very well and then there's the Decathlon team of Felix Gall. I wouldn't underestimate Derek Gee too much, he wasn't doing well at the Tour of The Alps, but I believe that at the Giro, with three weeks of racing available, he could become a really uncomfortable opponent."

Meanwhile, after much anticipation, the Giro is preparing to cross the roads of Bulgaria where temperatures are around 15°C with the possibility of rain, a climate that, as Storer points out, could put someone in difficulty especially for the return to Italy where the heat of the south should be faced right away. The Australian's attention is already focused on the mountain stages where the major battles for the general classification will take place and where he is ready to get into the game starting right from the finish on the Blockhaus scheduled for next Friday. "I really like the Blockhaus stage and I'm very curious to see what will happen. We'll need to be careful because there's a risk of being cut out of the general classification early, but in my opinion it will also become clear who will win the Giro. It's only the first big climb, but it's so hard that only the strongest climber will be able to win at the top and therefore the future final pink jersey wearer."