Trek-Segafredo manager Luca Guercilena said climber Giulio Ciccone will get his first chance to become a Grand Tour leader in 2021.

The Italian has competed in the Giro d'Italia five times, winning stages in Sestola and Ponte di Legno and taking the blue mountains jersey in 2019. That season he also made his Tour de France debut, finishing second in the summit finish of La Planche des Belle Fils and wearing the yellow jersey for two days.

Speaking to Rai Radiocorsa, Guercilena said Ciccone, who finished 16th in the 2019 Giro, would take the next step in 2021 and test himself as a Grand Tour leader.

"I am sure Giulio will make the Grand Tour his goal, to test himself and understand what he can do by racing as the sole leader for three weeks. We will talk together to understand which Grand Tour is right for him as leader."

"We haven't discussed the race program in detail because we are doing physiological and biological tests for next season. We have postponed final discussions on these programs until January."

Richie Porte, a podium finisher in the Tour de France, has left Trek-Segafredo and will join Ineos Grenadier next season.

Ciccone's second half of the 2020 season was a bit of a disaster: in September he contracted COVID-19 and had to leave the Giro after two weeks due to bronchitis; in November he underwent surgery to correct a deviated septum and improve his breathing; and in November, he was forced to leave the Giro after a month of training, after having been diagnosed with a severe case of bronchiolitis.

His three-year contract with the team expires at the end of 2021, but his performances, including a win at the 2020 Trofeo Laigueglia and a fifth place at Il Lombardia, have attracted the attention of other WorldTour teams.

Guercilena said the team is working on a contract extension with the 25-year-old.

"Julio and I have a good relationship and we have been together for a long time. We believed in him when no one else believed in him.