Two new superstars emerge in the Giro d’Italia: "After the Giro, we will enjoy a meal together"

Pellizzari, also 21, finished sixth in the Giro despite having no ambitions for the GC before the race. If Del Toro had been brought in to help Juan Ayuso win the Giro, Pellizzari would have had to do the same for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe hope Primoz Roglic. However, Ayuso and Roglic abandoned the race after crashes and physical discomfort, opening the road for their young helpers.

In Del Toro's case, there was never really any question of providing help; he had always been close to Ayuso during the first week and had already collected bonus seconds. However, Pellizzari lost a lot of time as a domestique to Roglic. On day 9, he had to save the Slovenian's skin in Siena, and in the second week, the former Giro and multiple Vuelta winner completely collapsed. Pellizzari stayed with him and was in 18th place after fifteen days, 6.31 minutes behind Del Toro.

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On the day Roglic abandoned the Giro after another crash, Pellizzari started climbing up the rankings. In the first mountain stage of the third week, he brilliantly rode away from all the favorites and made up minutes on many of them. He gained nine places and was promptly ninth in the GC. On day 17, he moved up another two places by finishing behind Del Toro among the other favorites, and on the decisive day 20, he ultimately beat Egan Bernal for sixth place.

"It's been a great Giro, with ups and downs. But I've had fun. We'll try to win it ourselves in the future," satisfied the Italian after the twentieth stage. Commenting on the bizarre finale, with Simon Yates as the winner and Del Toro losing the pink jersey after a poker game, he said: "I don't know exactly what happened, and I feel for Isaac, but I'm also happy for Yates. In 2018, he lost the Giro on the Finestre, so I think it's great that he won it here."

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These are kind words from the cheerful Italian because it is clear that Del Toro and Pellizzari know each other well. They were in regular contact during the stages, and after stage 20, Pellizzari was the first to hug Del Toro. What did he whisper in the Mexican's ear? "I told him that his day would come, and he would return to win the Giro d'Italia one day. I'm sure of it," he said on the final day in Rome to IDLProCycling.com.

"We live in the same building in San Marino, and I've known Isaac for five or six years," Pellizzari said of their friendship. "We've always raced against each other, but off the bike, we're friends. We don't train together, but after the Giro, we will enjoy a meal together, and we won't talk much about cycling. I don't need to cheer Isaac up; he's pleased to be in second place. Like me, he came to the Giro as a domestique and finished second... We can be satisfied; Isaac is a good guy."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])