Little needs to be said about Nairo Quintana, the Colombian climbing ace who stormed to second at the 2013 Tour de France – winning the white jersey for best young rider and claiming the King of the Mountains title in the process.

Now leading Movistar’s charge at the Giro, Quintana has time to make up after the team time trial but remains well-placed with the key mountain stages still to come.

Though he has not won a race since the season-opening Tour de San Luis, he was bookmakers’ favourite for the first Grand Tour of the season and so far there is no reason to doubt he won’t live up to the billing. The really tough stages are still to come, but Quintana, 24, is certainly the man to watch when the roads start heading skywards.