Still room to improve in Giro’s final week? Ciccone says: "We can still do something good, so we are confident"

"Until now, it's been a good Giro for us," Ciccone begins. "As a team, we are really, really happy. We won already four stages and we are playing for a good place on GC. About my shape, I'm really happy because I feel good."

But the decisive days for the GC will not come until week three. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old Italian is looking forward to it with confidence. "The real mountain days are still to come, but we are really confident to do a good result," says the climber, who already won the mountain classification of the Giro d'Italia in 2019.

"First, we try to arrive [in the third week] full of energy," the Lidl-Trek rider continues. "And then we will try to play all of our cards. We have a strong team with [Carlos] Verona and [Patrick] Konrad, they will support me, and of course, also Mads and the other guys. I think we can be already happy with this Giro, but we can still do something good, so we are confident."

And what could make it even better, according to Ciccone? Defending his position in the GC. "We hope for something more, but it's always hard to say: I go day-by-day, and then I will see the result in Rome. But I will be happy anyway because I'm doing my 100% and I can't do more, so it's okay like this."

But with the final week upon us, stage 13 to Vicenza may offer another opportunity for the Italian. "When you race on GC, you always miss some opportunities. Like I always say, I like to fight a bit and be in the breakaway because that's more my instinct. So this is a bit of a different approach to the race. But the Giro is still long, and we have many opportunities."