Allan Peiper of BMC has told Cyclingnews that he is confident Cadel Evans can win the Giro d’Italia.

“Cadel is back in Europe and he’ll be riding races in the next couple of weeks before building towards Tirreno. It’s step-by-step and then the rest will be the last step to the Giro.”

Evans has had a difficult few season sice he won the 2011 Tour de France but managed 3rd in the Giro overall last year.

“Coming back from sickness to rebuild again with the Giro last year, that was a case of feeling around in the dark and not knowing quite where you’ll come out. I think it’s been a rocky couple of years for him but adversity usually brings the best out of people and I think Cadel is really driven to back at the top. He knows he doesn’t have a long time to prove that but I think that’s going to be a big factor.”

Evans is now 36 and is approaching his final seasons as a pro. But Peiper is confident that Evans will prove that age is just a number.

“He won the Tour in 2011 as a 33- or 34-year-old, and last year he was the oldest podium rider in the Giro history so he kind of defies the rules in terms of age. There’s no doubt it’s going to catch up with him at certain point and I think the third week in the Giro is going to be critical when it comes to the age factor but if he’s done the background work and has the reserves on board I think he’ll get through that just fine.”

Peiper acknowledges that there will be many riders also looking to take the crown: Chris Horner, Rigoberto Uran and Nicholas Roche are expected to challenge. But the rider Peiper is most pleased to see compete against Evans is Nairo Quintana.

“Actually that’s good news. Having more teams with leaders creates more stability in the peloton, as more teams will be willing to take responsibility at different points in the race, instead of just one or two teams that spend a lot of time controlling the race for three weeks. I think the competition is good.”

There will be many changes between now and May, but Peiper is doing what he has always done: backing a man who never says die.

“I said it late last year based off what he did at the Giro last year but also on the basis of the second half of his season. In my mind the power, strength and confidence that he’s exuding only reconfirms the possibility that he can make a run for the Giro victory. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t think that was true.”