Rafal Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff) broke through on the biggest scene in today's first mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia as the Pole was able to climb with the best in the world and finished safely in 6th in the same time as Vincenzo Nibali and Cadel Evans. With white jersey holder Wilco Kelderman (Blanco) dropped the took over the lead in the young riders' competition and is now 1.05 ahead of second-placed Carlos Betancur (Ag2r).

Last year Rafal Majka was expected to lead the Saxo-Tinkoff team in the Giro d'Italia but an injury forced him to miss the race. However, he delivered a very strong work for Alberto Contador in the Vuelta a Espana later in the year and so the young Pole was once again marked out as GC captain for the Danish team in this year's Giro.

After another injury-plagued spring he managed to ride himself into good condition prior to the race. Having been able to stay with the race favourites throughout the first 9 stages and defend himself well in the time trial, he bounced onto the biggest scene in today's first mountain stage.

When the favourites hit the steepest part of the climb the first rider to attack was the Saxo-Tinkoff rider. Unable to get away he slotted into a position just behind race leader Vincenzo Nibali and he managed to keep in contact with the maglia rosa for the remainder of the stage.

Already on the first climb best young rider Wilco Kelderman had been dropped and despite a brief comeback on the flat approach to the last climb the Dutchman ended up losing 5.17 to Majka. The Pole now finds himself in the white jersey and is 10th overall.

Spurred on by his great feeling the Saxo-Tinkoff captain has plenty of confidence but he also keeps both feet firmly grounded as this is his first experience riding for the GC in a grand tour.

”I've been feeling strong through the race so far with the exception of the day before the rest day where I was suffering from headaches," he said. "It's a fantastic feeling being able to compete with the best climbers in the world in this demanding terrain and I have a feeling that my condition is still improving. But it's hard to predict how the body reacts in the days to come. It's a long and very tough race and I'm gonna take one stage at a time."

Not much was expected from Saxo-Tinkoff prior to the race and sports director Dan Frost was overjoyed to see the team's young captain at the pointy end.

"Rafal did such a great stage where he got a firm grip on the biggest favorites in the race and even had the energy to launch an attack," he said. "When he sees that they wouldn't let him go, he stopped and sensibly he fell to the back of the group. Now, we have to see what tomorrow's stage will offer and it's probably gonna be another tough mountain stage with an uphill finish. I hope he can maintain his position from now on but we have to remember that he is a very young rider and the race is still long and hard but we are very happy with what we have seen today."

Majka's first defence of the white jersey will be mounted in tomorrow's mountain stage which finishes atop the category 2 climb to Vajont. The final ascent is not overly hard and it could very well be a perfect opportunity for a breakaway.

Starting at 14.15 you can follow the action on CyclingQuotes.com/live.