After four sprint stages and a breakaway stage, the Giro d'Italia heads into the hilly and mountainous Piedmont over the weekend.

Richard Kalapas and his Ineos Grenadiers teammates, like the riders on the Corsa Rosa, are struggling with the heat this week, but are ready for stage 14 on Saturday in the hills overlooking Turin and the mountain finish in Cogne on Sunday. They are getting ready.

With Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Romain Bardet (Team DSM) out of contention for the overall win, Calapaz is in second place overall, just 12 seconds behind leader Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo).

"We are now in the right terrain for us," Ben Swift said after the stage to Cuneo after once again defending Calapaz during most of the fast stage from San Remo.

"I think Saturday will be the hardest day of this race, and then there's Sunday. Before the race, people underestimated the impact of the last four stages. On paper it looked easy, but in reality it wasn't. It was hot and fast."

All eight riders in the Ineos Grenadiers here at the Giro d'Italia are doing their utmost to protect Calapaz from the wind, whether on the flats, in the sprint finish, on the climbs, or on the return to the team bus after the stage.

Swift is Carapas' bodyguard in the peloton and mentor to younger riders like Ben Truett, who will play an important role in the mountains.

"It's easy to work with a player like Richie," Swift said modestly. 'You don't have to look around to know he's there and safe. He's made a few seconds so far, and we're in a good position."

Kalapas keeps a low profile at each stage as Swift and his teammates protect and guide him. He is keeping his media work to a minimum and prioritizing his recovery so that he can be at his best from now until the finish in Verona.

The 20-year-old Tourette will be making his Grand Tour debut in Ineos Grenadiers, and the British climber is looking forward to the mountain stages.

"It's exciting for us. Richard is in great form, second overall, and he's riding to win. We want to do everything we can to help him win," he told Cuneo's Cycling News.

"We'll work our way through the stages and give it our all.

Captain Matteo Tosatto has been preaching a philosophy of recovery, stressing the importance of an extra 40 minutes in bed each night and a 20-minute nap on the team bus. At Ineos Grenadiers, the small gains continue to add up.

Tosat also did a detailed reconnaissance of the two stages and knows what Calapaz and his players will face this weekend.

"It's two very important stages, two different stages that could be a combination that makes Sunday particularly difficult," he warned Cycling News.

"It's an important stage, but it's not a Giro-defining stage. But it will shock and shake up the Giro. Saturday's stage is like a classic, it's a mountain stage in an urban area and it's very technical.

Tosatto won the maglia rosa over the weekend and is not afraid to try to defend it in the mountain stages of week 3.

"I would be happy to take the maglia rosa whenever possible," he said confidently.

"I'm not afraid of the responsibility of race leader," he said.