Five days into his career, Filippo Ganna has already won two stages of the Giro d'Italia, proving his ability to go fast on the climbs and descents in the process. For his next trick, the Italian will have to temper his expectations in his home country.

After a dominant victory in the time trial in Palermo on Saturday, Ganna was free to chase a stage win in the Calabrian mountains on Wednesday after Ineos Grenadiers leader Geraint Thomas retired the previous morning.

Ganna's weight and height ("82 or 83 kg, 1.92 m," he confirmed) did not make him a prime candidate to drop his fellow escapees on the 25-km section up Valrico Monte Scuro, but he wisely chose that moment, toughing it out on the steep section and easing the gradient in the last 4 km and punched his way clear.

On the summit, he pulled a minute ahead of the rest of the field and maintained his advantage on the rain-soaked descent to Camigliatello Silano to win stage 5.

Later, on RAI's program "Processo alla Tappa," Ganna made a holographic appearance as a "virtual" guest at a physical distance. He had barely taken his virtual seat when he was asked if he would one day boldly try and win the Grand Tour.

"Wait and see, Dai. I'll continue my program," said Gana, who had built his career around the Tokyo Olympics before turning pro in 2017." I'll figure out what else to do when the program is over." "That's fine, thank you."

Ganna, a time trial world champion, track world record holder, and Paris-Roubaix winner as an amateur, had already repeatedly demonstrated his suitability as a ruler.

Now, despite his size, Ganna, a native of Verbania, seems to have climbing potential. At the post-stage press conference, Ganna politely dodged similar questions about his limitations as a rider, insisting that he still needs time to grow and find his niche.

"I haven't been a pro that long," he said. Everyone thinks of riders like Lemko, who started winning World Tour races right away. But some riders take about four years to adapt. But there are riders like Lemko who started winning World Tour races right away. Unfortunately, I needed some time and the team gave me some space."

Ganna came into this Giro with two goals: to win the opening time trial in the rainbow jersey and to help Geraint Thomas win the Maria Rosa. The second goal was spoiled by a stray bidon in Enna's neutral zone on Monday. Following Thomas' retirement, Ineos was forced to readjust his race, as he did in the Tour de France.

"Geraint gave me a message yesterday saying, 'Get in the breakaway,' so I respected the captain's orders," laughed Ganna, whose orders had also been given by coach Dave Brailsford before the stage. 'Dave kindly told me to go into the break today and try to win. I think we did him a favor."

The same day that Dr. Richard Freeman's Medical Council Tribunal in Manchester revealed more unpleasant details about the Team Sky dynamic, Brailsford was perhaps eager to make a success for his new sponsor. Ganna certainly seemed to be generous with his compliments to the team, kissing his badge like a striker in front of the carver celebrating a stage victory.

"Ineos has many champions to learn from.

"I have to thank him. When to eat, when to drink, when not to pull too much. He is not the leader of the GC, but he is the captain of the team. He's not only a teammate, he's almost a brother. This is my first time in Giro, but he always has kind words for me. Staying calm is sometimes more important than having strong legs."

Ganna demonstrated both qualities on the final climb on a muddy afternoon in the dark hills of Calabria. Lotto Soudal's Thomas Degento and Movistar's neo-pro Ainel Rubio bridged up to the break on Valrico Monte Scuro, but then exchanged acceleration, marking each other and launching into a duel between the two alone. Despite the unsuitable terrain, Ganna managed to create an opportunity.

"I'm 83 kg, so it's not easy for me to climb," Ganna said. But in the end I did the time trial all the way to the finish."