Did 6.9 w/kg Pellizzari sacrifice a stunning Giro GC ride by staying with Roglic? “I had super legs”

Pellizzari had good legs throughout the Giro. “I put out the best numbers of my life over an hour and a half, my legs were really good,” he said with a grin after his monster effort on stage 9 to Siena. At that point, all focus was still on Roglic, who was aiming to win the Giro for Red Bull. Pellizzari, who initially wasn’t even on the Giro start list, emerged as a high-level domestique. “We believe Primoz can still win. The toughest part of the Giro is still ahead of us.”

That belief didn’t hold. Roglic crashed again on stages 10, 14 and 16, and the final fall proved one too many. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe CEO Ralph Denk wasted no time and immediately spotlighted rising star Pellizzari. “It’s great to see, but also proof of how we operate as a team. We’ve helped him grow, with the right strategy and environment. The takeaway is that if everyone stays on their bike, you can be as good as Giulio is showing us now.”

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Denk was referring to Pellizzari’s brilliant attack on the final climb—the San Valentino—of stage 16. The Italian, who finished second in a third-week mountain stage for Bardiani last year, even managed to drop a surging Richard Carapaz (EF) while averaging a staggering 6.9 watts per kilogram. He gained minutes on several GC contenders and jumped from 18th to 9th overall. Speaking to In de Leiderstrui ahead of stage 17, he said: “Win a stage or go for GC? Why not both?”

“It was tough to see Primoz go home, because I really enjoyed working for him and we were looking forward to the third week,” he added. “Now I’m just going to race without pressure and see where I end up in Rome.” After finishing in the first chasing group behind stage winner Isaac Del Toro and closest rival Carapaz, Pellizzari moved up from 9th to 7th on Wednesday. “It went well. I had good legs and the team supported me perfectly, so I have to thank them. We’ll keep fighting.”

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At Red Bull, they’re still trying to manage expectations. The German team knows a top-five finish is within reach, but sports director Christian Pömer is focused on stage wins first. “We saw on Tuesday that Giulio is in great shape, and we wanted to build on that. Our plan was to go for the stage and get as many guys up front as possible. In the end, Daniel Felipe Martínez was in the mix from the break, though we didn’t quite get the result we were after.”

“We’ll keep going for stages and supporting Giulio,” Pömer concluded. That message will be music to Pellizzari’s ears. Ever since Roglic crashed on stage 9, the young Italian has often found himself holding back despite having great legs. “On Sunday to Asiago (stage 15), for example, I felt amazing, so it was tough not being able to stay with the best. But I wanted to stay with Primoz and be there for him. Let’s see what I can do now. The team believes in me, and I’m happy to be here.”

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