Haas joins the nerdy class for "bonkers" Giro lesson Masterclass: Nathn Haas (left) says the Giro d'Italia is "totally different" to any race he has done before. Nathan Haas says he thought he "knew everything" in cycling before his Giro d'Italia grand tour debut, and admits the three-week race has become a 'masterclass' for him in the sport. With nine of the 21 stages down in the 3,405km race that ends in Brescia on May 26, the Australian, in his second year as a European based professional, is brutally honest about how he has been faring. I came to class thinking I knew everything. After four stages I was like, 'What did I know before this?'," he told Fairfax Media. It is totally different to anything I have done. I've done World Tour races and I've done classics. They seem to have a pretty predictable narrative to them; whereas this race has been bonkers. Guys have been trying to catch breaks of two [riders] 50km from the line - being crazy nervous - and then sprint stages that have had 'groupettos' of 140 guys. It's madness, but it's fantastic. Judging by his self-assessment, it is clear Haas (Garmin-Sharp) has absorbed the lesson his sports director Charly Wegelius intended for him in a race where the challenge for the US-registered team is to help their Canadian leader Ryder Hesjedal defend his Giro crown. That challenge has grown quickly. Before Tuesday's mountainous 10th stage - 167km from Cordenons to Altopiano del Montasio that included a brutal 21.9km climb to the finish - Hesjedal, 32, was 11th overall at 3 minutes, 11 seconds to Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) who led by 29s to Australian Cadel Evans (BMC), in second, and 1min, 16s on third-placed Dutchman Robert Gesink (Blanco). That Haas was picked to support Hesjedal still reflects the faith the team has in him. But as his Wegelius said, it came with the promise of hard knocks. He is learning a lot about real bike racing from some of the older guys. It's like at school - you think you are smart and then you go into the 'nerds' class and you realise that you are not smart as you thought you were," Wegelius said. I think he is going to be a different bike rider at the end of this. Haas' tasks have been numerous - from fetching water bottles, to riding in the wind as a buffer for Hesjedal, or setting tempo in the bunch - as he did late in Sunday's ninth stage to Florence when he and teammate David Millar upped the pace to try and distance British star Bradley Wiggins (Sky). "I'm spending a lot of time in the wind, but ultimately it is building my engine," Haaas said. " If I get through this tour, I will be a much stronger rider, where if we got to a grand tour in the future where the only goal isn't to win GC [the general classification] I might be more confident to take opportunities. Haas - who is from Canberra - has also learned much from his Giro roommate, South African Robbie Hunter, a hard-as-nails and seasoned Tour de France stage winner. "He has a bit of a reputation as a tough man, so you try not to mess around with him too much," Haas said of Hunter, 36. Haas cited as one of Hunter's greatest teachings - the need to harden up when handling the physicality of fighting elbow-to-elbow for position in a bunch at high speed. "He has taught me that on the road, the only people who need to be your friends are your teammates, that you don't need to be a gentleman all the time if it's in the best interests of the team," Haas said. When things are getting messy, he has shown me how to probably have a bit of a backbone which definitely you need to have ... especially when you are a young guy and some of the guys who looked up to try to squeeze you out of a wheel. Watch stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia - 182km from Tarvisio to Vajont - live on Eurosport, Ch 511 Foxtel from 10.30pm on Wednesday.