Richie Porte will justifiably be the breakthrough name most people will take from this year's Giro, but there's another rider, only 22-years-old, who deserves special mention: Rabobank's Steven Kruijswijk.
Kruijswijk was an extremely late addition to the Rabobank squad following the last minute withdrawal of three-time World Champion, Oscar Freire, before the start in Amsterdam.
Little was expected of the young rider, so it wasn't too difficult for Kruijswijk to raise eyebrows, at least at first. He bettered the expectations almost immediately by merely making it through the opening two weeks, then crushed them in the final week.
The first week was a trial by fire for the Rabobank Continental team graduate. He was 193rd in the first road stage, only a few positions from dead last. The next two days weren't much better with 104th and 131st place finishes respectively. There was absolutely no indication that this would be a rider that would be a factor in the final week. Kruijswijk gave his first indication of positive direction with a 25th place finish in Stage 6's difficult finale, where Matt Lloyd was the solo victor. The next day, over Tuscany's Strada Bianche, was an entirely different experience, however - back to groveling for a 154th spot on the day.
When the race started to get really hard though, Kruijswijk began to shine. He finished a quiet 35th on the Terminillo, then went even better on Stage 14's first real date with immense vertical difficulty, the Monte Grappa: 19th. A rest day followed, which apparently did the young Dutchman good. He went two places better on the Zoncolan to take 17th.
The rider, whose best result before the Giro this year was a 13th overall at the Vuelta Murcia, was a blank slate coming into the Giro: "I did not know what I could expect, but Frans Maassen came to Amsterdam to discuss it with me. He gave me advice, which subsequently all proved true. Frans said, 'Do not be surprised if there will be sixty riders who go better than you in the mountains. Now, after the last few days, we have to laugh. It was a surprise for everyone."
Following two top twenty finishes in the first two big days in the mountains, Kruijswijk's success was at best a tiny little blip on the proverbial radar screen. His ride in Stage 17 from Bruneck to Pejo Terme would be his real breakthrough. He made the break and eventually finished a fantastic 3rd place behind Damien Monier and Danilo Hondo.
Kruijswijk's podium finish in Stage 17 seemed to push him an extra bit forward. The last two days in the mountains have been Kruijswijk's best yet. He finished 13th on the brutal day to Aprica on Saturday, then 14th today in the final day in the mountains of the 2010 Giro. Kruijswijk now sits in a notable 18th overall and looks to have his spot sewn up.
"It's an almost unbelievable story. I did no specific training for a Grand Tour. I had no sense of what to expect, I had no illusions though either. After the first difficult days in the Netherlands, it got better. In the mountains, I never experienced a bad day. It always got a little better everyday."