Could Pellizzari have gained time on Vingegaard in the Giro time trial? Hindley drained at the finish

The cracks in Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe were still visible after the tenth stage of the Giro d’Italia. Team leaders Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley lost significant time in the 42-kilometer individual time trial against their main rivals. The question now is how both riders will hold up physically heading into the second week.

Pellizzari and Hindley started the Giro strongly and had every reason to aim for a top result. Domestique Mick van Dijke had already expressed in Bulgaria that Red Bull hoped to place two riders on the final podium. In the opening days, the duo performed well. The first real test for Jonas Vingegaard of Visma | Lease a Bike came on the Blockhaus climb on stage seven.

Pellizzari, who had impressively countered an attack from Vingegaard on stage two, was the only rider able to briefly match the Dane’s pace on the Blockhaus but ultimately faltered, losing over a minute. Hindley rode at his own tempo and crossed the Blockhaus summit slightly faster the following day, even attacking in an explosive finish to gain a few seconds with Vingegaard on his wheel.

During stage nine, Vingegaard made a decisive move against the Red Bull duo, with Pellizzari in particular struggling. The young Italian lost nearly a minute and a half to his rival, later revealed to be due to stomach issues—a problem that had already affected teammate Gianni Moscon during the first week.

The 42-kilometer time trial on stage ten was likely approached by Pellizzari with less confidence, but the performance was solid. Thymen Arensman of Netcompany INEOS gained 1:24 over Pellizzari, but the Italian clearly outperformed most of the other GC contenders.

Vingegaard was only 18 seconds faster than Pellizzari, suggesting that the ambition to gain time on the Dane after stage eight was not unrealistic. Pellizzari noted that his stomach problems from stage nine had nearly disappeared. "I knew I had to suffer; I think I rode about 35 watts below my usual pace. But I was still fairly quick. Now I just need to recover further because I felt better."

“Sunday (stage nine) was physically and mentally tough, but I’m recovered and looking ahead,” Pellizzari said optimistically. However, it appeared that Hindley, his Australian teammate, was also feeling the strain. Whereas Hindley had previously been faster than Pellizzari on Sunday, he finished behind his recovering teammate in the time trial.

Hindley declined to comment at the finish, but his pale, exhausted appearance told its own story. With a 3:31 time loss to stage winner Filippo Ganna, Hindley was among the slower GC riders of the day. Fortunately for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, the upcoming Giro stages include a few transition stages, with the next uphill finish scheduled for Saturday.

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