Mick van Dijke on just days recovery time between Roubaix and the Giro — but he's loving every minute

The circus that is the Giro d'Italia moves on Sunday evening from Bulgaria to Italy. Paul Magnier is the star of the show with two stage wins — but day two also gave us our first real glimpse of the GC hierarchy. Of the genuine classification contenders, Giulio Pellizzari was the only one for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe who could follow Jonas Vingegaard.

Mick van Dijke is one of Pellizzari's key domestiques at this Giro — though the two are still getting to know each other. "It's actually only my first race with him," Van Dijke tells IDL Pro Cycling.

"We're still learning each other's ways, but you can see straight away that Giulio is a really cheerful character. He's great company at the dinner table," says the Zeelander, who himself is never short of a joke when the moment allows. Off the bike, his job is to make sure the team leaders are always perfectly positioned and kept safe at the key moments.

"My role is primarily to support the GC, which we want to ride with Jai and Giulio. After Jonas — who is clearly the top favourite — we have two really strong riders. Ideally we'd get both of them on the podium," says Van Dijke.

For Van Dijke this is his second Grand Tour, after riding the Tour de France last year. "It's by the sea as well," he laughs when we ask about his time in Bulgaria, where he and his team came through safely. "It was a short build-up to the Giro, but I think it went well. I've had a very busy spring Classics season."

Van Dijke raced all the way from the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to the end of the season and capped a beautiful spring at Paris-Roubaix with a fifth-place finish. With the Giro already on the horizon, his focus had to shift quickly. "We had the plan to potentially do the Giro back in December, but the decision was made after Flanders. So I didn't have a lot of time."

"It's about finding the balance — getting back up to speed, but without overdoing it. After about five days, your fitness starts to drop off fairly quickly, so in reality I only rested for five days. That's not much," Van Dijke laughs, with characteristic understatement.

How do you switch off in just five days? "You do a few normal things. I went to the Amstel Gold Race — we went as a family to watch Tim, and then we all went out for dinner afterwards. It made for a really lovely day. And Remco winning was of course absolutely fantastic for the team."

The Van Dijke brothers share a dream of one day riding the Tour together — and this year Tim looks set to make La Grande Boucle, though normally that will be without his older brother. "That will be very strange. The combination of the Classics and a Grand Tour in the current cycling calendar is already incredibly demanding, so I'll definitely be resting in July. The Tour won't normally be an option for me — but with injuries you never know."

First things first, though — the Giro, and getting his GC leaders to Paris. And maybe a little personal glory along the way. "I might get the chance to slip into a breakaway or try to sprint in a smaller group. But it's never easy. On the days when that opportunity arises, there are still 150 others who want the same thing. It would be absolutely brilliant if we could add something on top of the GC result."