It was more of the same heading into the Giro. O’Connor's role had been a) supporting Meintjes, and b) fact-finding; how would he respond to a Grand Tour? Any result, any elite showing, was going to be a bonus.

“You think ‘oh maybe I can give it a go’ but it’s the Giro! Like fuck. You’re not going to be good in the Giro after three weeks, the first time you’ve done a Grand Tour, you just won’t be. Maybe I could get in a break one day, and try to pull something off. But it’s always ‘maybe, maybe’.”

It can’t be underestimated how big an achievement it is to be riding with the elite group at a Grand Tour in your first attempt. In the final standings of this year’s race, you get down to Fausto Masnada in 26th place before you find another rider in their first Grand Tour. These are not races for young men; they’re predicated on experience, on endurance and strength accumulated by years as a pro. That's what made O’Connor’s performance incredible, and surreal.

Stage 6, finishing atop Mt Etna, was the first major shakedown of the race’s GC contenders. Who's good? Who's here to play? Ben O’Connor. Asked what his first big wow-moment of the Giro was, he answers almost immediately.

“Etna. Etna; for sure. It’s a big climb; it’s a long climb. You get to lava fields, with like 8km to go, and you look back, feeling ok. But there are only like 15 guys left in that front group. That was probably the first big moment, and then you see Dumoulin attack… Holey Moley, I’m actually like… here. Well, here-ish.”

It was a race made by those moments; those penny drop realisations that’s he’s here at the hardest race in the world and climbing with the best.

“The next one was on Gran Sasso when Froomey was getting dropped. Like what? How? It’s kind of hard to comprehend when you’re just grappling on the end of the group, and next minute he’s not there. They’re those kinds of moments where it sinks in", he says.

"With the Tifosi on the side of the road and massive banks of snow; they’re all like little dreams that when you go to sleep you think about. For it all to actually happen, it’s just on another level.”

Few climbs in cycling typify madness like the Monte Zoncolan. The 10.1km kilometer climb averages a leg breaking 11.9%, making it one of the hardest climbs in cycling. With its cauldron-like atmosphere thanks to the fans that pack the roadside, it’s the centerpiece of any Giro it features in and features prominently in the rider’s minds.

“The Zoncolan is mythic; everything is kind of put on it, and your mind always drifts to it. That was probably the only day I felt, super crazy nervous. Every other day is kind of day-by-day… I exceeded what I thought was possible, so every day I wasn’t stressed, I was like ‘wow’.”

The Zoncolan was one of several surreal moments for a first-timer still adjusting to the idea this was all happening. This year’s race started in Israel, a highly controversial decision from RCS, the organizing body of the Giro. Between that, the cloud surrounding winner Chris Froome, regarding his adverse analytical finding; it was quite the introduction for anyone riding their first Giro.

The 2018 Giro was a quick Giro too; relentless in pace, thanks to a large field of contenders fighting for the overall win, and a peloton more than happy to race full gas, especially if they caught a big favourite on a bad day.

“It was just obscene. I’ve never been to a race where it was just on for so long. I thought Grand Tours had a lot of easy, mediocre days, where you rest and recover. But that is not the case… Italian roads definitely set themselves up to be raced that way; they’re so narrow, and you have to be in the right spot at the right time."