No longer under the radar, Michael Storer is the Giro d'Italia contender you need to know about

When Michael Storer arrived at this Tour of the Alps, he knew his days of sometimes flying under the radar were probably gone. After an imperious stage win and fifth overall at Paris-Nice earlier this season, there would be no rider or team left who didn't know Storer's name, and the threat he posed on tough stages.

Victory at the Tour of the Alps on Tuesday only solidified that theory, but what's more, Storer's performance on stage 2 has rocketed him into serious GC contention for the Giro d'Italia. If he wasn't on the contenders list already, he should be now.

Though Storer might be more easily labelled as a stage hunter, his GC credentials are seriously building, especially since moving to Tudor Pro Cycling for 2024. Last year, he finished 10th at the Giro after an impressively consistent three weeks. And his Paris-Nice top five was not just because of the time he took winning stage 7, it was the result of a steady week of improving as the race got tougher.

Of course, one stage win in the Tour of the Alps isn't on its own a sign that a rider is going to challenge at the Giro, but for Storer, Tuesday's result was emblematic of the work he's put in to get to this point, and that he will carry into the next month of racing. 

"He's in great shape, but I even think he might be able to get better," Storer's teammate Larry Warbasse said after stage 2. Warbasse and the Australian have worked together a lot this year, and will pair up once again at the Giro d'Italia.

"We did a training camp in Sierra Nevada for three weeks, and you could see that he had incredible legs," he said. "I was trying to teach him how to get aero so I think he used some tips today and it paid off with a really nice victory. I think it's a great sign."

As well as his clear good shape, Storer's strong start to the year isn't just down to good legs, but also a happier, more supportive environment.

Only 28, Storer has been through several teams already in his career, coming of age at Team Sunweb before a move to Groupama-FDJ in 2022 for a two-year stint that maybe wasn't as fruitful as he'd hoped. At Tudor, however, the team environment has clicked.

"I've already won more than last year and that's really thanks to the team getting behind me, giving me the support and faith that I haven't had in previous years," Storer told the media after his win.

"I think it's all about the team staff and my teammates. They're great people, they give me trust, they give me support, and sometimes that's all you need, the support of the people around you. My coach has always believed in me, the team always gives me the support that I need, for everything. With a team like that and with teammates like those, it's easier to get results, because I know they will always have my back."

As Storer pointed out, his coach, Sebastian Deckert, has been a particularly key part of that support, and it's perhaps no surprise that his breakthrough in GC results in the last two years has coincided with reuniting with Deckert.

"I have a very good relationship with my coach, I worked with him for three years at DSM and then we were not working together for two years when I was at Groupama, but then I'm back with Sebastian since changing back to Tudor. We've been working together for more than four years. He knows me really well and I think that makes a difference," he said.

All eyes on the Giro

Though the wins in Paris-Nice and Tour of the Alps have clearly been meaningful for Storer, they are part of a journey towards a bigger goal, the Giro d'Italia. 

Tudor Pro Cycling didn't officially know they were invited to the Giro until the end of March, but Storer has been racing and training on the presumption that he would be there.

"I'm dreaming about the Giro d'Italia, that's my big goal for the season. I want to do good, I want to be there and I want to perform well," he said.

Going to the Giro with such clear intentions and such strong results will take one string out of Storer's bow – there's no chance of being allowed into a threatening break, or ghosting into the top 10 – but when the racing gets really tough, as it will in the Giro, being a marked man or not becomes less important. 

"For sure people look at me a bit more in the racing, but on a stage like today it doesn't really make much difference, because it's all about the legs really," he explained on Tuesday.

"If you're the strongest guy – which I'm very happy I was [today] – on those steep gradients then you can just ride away, and there's not much they can do from behind to be honest. It's a pretty good position to be in to be able to do that, and it doesn't happen every day."

The team are equally aware that, whether he's the strongest come May or not, eyes will be on Storer at the Giro, perhaps even more so than the talked-up Marc Hirschi, who is making his Giro debut with Tudor.

"That unassuming nature could let [Storer] fly a little bit under the radar, but with the performances he's putting out, I don't think he's going to fly under the radar much longer," Warbasse said.

"[I think he'll do really well [at the Giro]. Watch out for Michael Storer! He showed today that he's in great shape, and I think we can expect big things."

Before that though, there's the matter of this race, and trying to protect the Tour of the Alps green jersey and possibly take just the third GC win of Storer's career.

"I think the race is going to be quite complicated in the next three days. I think a lot of teams are going to try and topple us, essentially," he said.

"I think anyone can be a rival, anyone who's in the top 10 on the GC for sure is going to try their best to move up. So I think it's going to be a very interesting race, but I can also say I prefer to have 41 seconds advantage rather than being 41 seconds behind. I think it's a great position to be in."

Whether he holds onto that position or not, Storer has already won something from this Tour of the Alps: his place in the list of threats for the first Grand Tour of the season. Overlook him at your peril.