Pero Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) says he wants to move away from his usual menu of overall contenders in the Grand Tours and make one race his new goal this fall. However, this change in program means that he is already making progress in races like the Tour de Pollogne.

Bilbao, who finished ninth overall in last year's Tour de France and fifth overall in the Giro d'Italia this May and in 2020, was expected to compete in the Vuelta a España this fall.

However, the Basque all-rounder will soon focus on one-day races instead of a second Grand Tour in 2022. After the Tour de Pollogne, where he is currently second overall, Bilbao will take on a World Tour one-day race in Canada in September.

Bilbao told Cyclingnews that his mid-season change of direction has brought direct benefits here and now. He finished second behind stage winner and race leader Sergio Iguita (Bora-Hansgrohe) in a tough uphill finish in Pollogne on Monday.

"I have been training to be fresher and more explosive for the upcoming one-day races. [Previously, I focused on cardio because I was aiming for the GC ranking. But now I'm cutting back on the length and volume of my training and instead doing series races, dhani training, higher intensity races, anaerobic training, etc. That has helped me here as well."

For Bilbao, the big test of how he can perform on the punchy climbs he will face at the Canadian Classic went well in Pollogne, but it was logistically disappointing that he could not beat Higuain on the line.

"We had good support from the young guys in the team like Steve (Williams) and (Eduardo) Zambanini.

"I didn't throw in the towel and when I saw the guys in front of me losing traction, I went forward almost unwillingly. Just like Higuain. In the last 200 meters, I leaned too much on (Quinten) Hermans (Intermarche Wanty-Gobert Materio) rather than follow Sergio.

"It was a shame that I couldn't finish the job of my teammate.

Just 24 hours later, Bilbao was lucky to miss the crash that injured Higuain's right knee, but with Thursday's time trial just around the corner, he is still not optimistic about taking over from overall Tour de Pologne winner Joan Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) He is not optimistic.

"Of course it is important to be in a good position on GC in this race, but the time trial is the most important factor to actually win. We all know that the other six stages have little influence on the overall result," said Bilbao, who is currently four seconds behind Higuain.

"I will do my best possible in the time trial, but I am very aware that the riders behind me are TT specialists. But I'm going to do the best possible in the time trial. I agree. They say you have to buy a lottery ticket to win.

As for the time trial, Bilbao may be more pessimistic than necessary, having won the Spanish national TT championship in 2020.

But if he surprises himself on Thursday's short 11km climb and does enough to take the overall lead, Bilbao will take an even bigger leap forward, winning his first overall stage race at age 32.