Darren Rafferty may be just 21-years-old but the Co Tyrone man has now been called up for the second Grand Tour of his career and will start the Giro d'Italia in Albania on Friday.
The Irish road race champion made his debut in a three-week race last season, riding La Vuelta. He was valuable support for Richard Carapaz and proved able to go on the attack deep into the race.
It was clear from his selection last year that Rafferty had quickly gained the full confidence of team management. And though he only finished Tour de Romandie on Sunday, he was soon in Albanian for the start of the Giro, from Durrës, on Friday.
Rafferty was once again expected to ride in support of Carapaz as the former Olympic road race champion, and 2019 Giro winner, is the team's best bet for the general classification.
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German rider Georg Steinhauser is also likely to get some leeway to target a stage win, having taken one victory on the Giro last year and placed 3rd on two stages.
Kasper Asgreen, whose spring campaign was derailed by illness, will also pin numbers on and will act as the team road's captain, with the main aim of keeping team leader Carapaz out of trouble.
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And though Rafferty is still very young, and is in just his second season as a World Tour rider, depending on how the race goes - specifically Carapaz's general classification challenge - the Irishman may get a chance to go on the attack.
He is likely to be up the road, at very least as a satellite rider for Carapaz - at some stage, as it was a role he performed very well at the Vuelta last year.
Whatever chance for a personal result he gets, the Giro will be an incredible learning experience for Rafferty and a chance to further develop his engine as only these Grand Tours can.
Carapaz said he had every confidence in the team as he goes into his fourth Giro in search of stage and general classification success.
"The team is very prepared," he said. "We all know our plan. We’re bringing all of our experiences to make the Giro ours. We can’t hide our ambitions: we want to win the race.
"We have had this intention for months. We want to win. It’s the main focus for the team right now. The staff and riders know what’s up. We want to do it well and we are hoping for the best."
