Cadel Evans has learnt in his years as a professional cyclist just how quickly the scales of fate can tip in his favour – or mercilessly against it.

Evans has lost races – many of them major – because of injury, illness or mechanical mishap. But he has been on the receiving end of fortune too, such as in 2011, when his wish to race a Tour de France spare of bad luck came true and he became the first Australian to win the world's biggest bike race.

Hence, his caution when speaking of the good that has come his way in the Giro d'Italia on Monday and Tuesday after avoiding a crash on stage one in Naples last Saturday and losing time in the 17.4 kilometre team time trial on the island of Ischia on stage two on Sunday.

After the 246km fourth stage from Policastro Bussentino to Serra San Bruno in the region of Calabria in the toe of Italy, Evans was in 10th place overall at 42 seconds to the Italia race leader Luca Paolini (Katusha), while race favourite Bradley Wiggins (Sky) was down to sixth at 34 secs.