Giulio Pellizzari on the lessons learned at the Giro d'Italia and watching the Tour de France from home

Giulio Pellizzari will not ride another Grand Tour in 2026. The young Italian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had a physically and mentally challenging Giro d'Italia. As such, he won’t be starting the Tour de France alongside rivals Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike). The Vuelta a España is also off the table for the climber.

On paper, Pellizzari was the main challenger in May to eventual overall winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike). The 22-year-old Italian finished third this year in the Tour of Valencia and Tirreno-Adriatico and even won two stages and the overall classification in the Tour of the Alps.

Pellizzari got off to a good start in the Giro; he dared to keep up with Vingegaard on day seven, but a virus then threw a wrench in his plans. Pellizzari pushed himself too hard and paid the price heading into the third week. In the end, he helped teammate Jai Hindley secure third place in the overall standings.

"I see the Giro d'Italia as a lesson, a way to learn," Pellizzari said in La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I took a big hit, but that will come in handy in the future. I didn't achieve the result I wanted, but I did gain a lot more experience."

After a grueling Giro d'Italia, Pellizzari's name was briefly mentioned as a possible contender for the Tour de France, but his performance in the Tour of Slovenia seemed to provide the answer. Pellizzari finished second there, behind teammate Florian Lipowitz, who will be competing at the Tour.

"I've found consistency—that was one of the things I was looking for this season," said the climber, who has finished on the podium in all of his stage races this year outside of the Giro. "The Tour of Slovenia was the best way to get back into the swing of things after a short vacation."

Pellizzari’s focus is actually on the second half of the season. “I’ve regained that good feeling on the bike, and I really enjoyed riding with Florian. I won’t be riding any more Grand Tours this season. In August, I’ll be competing in the Clásica San Sebastián and the Tour of Burgos.”

After a training period and the Spanish races, Pellizzari hopes to be in top form by fall. Not for the Vuelta a España, which he rode last year, but for the Italian autumn season and the World Championships in Canada. “I hope to compete. There’s still a question mark regarding the European Championships in Slovenia; I’ll wrap up the season in Lombardy.”

Pellizzari doesn’t think he did anything wrong leading up to the Giro. He dismisses the notion that he was “too good” in the Tour of the Alps. “No one was in top form there, not even me—that’s what the data showed. I improved during the Giro, but then what happened happened. It is what it is.”

The schedule for the remainder of 2026 is therefore not a stopgap measure, but a deliberate choice. Last year, Pellizzari competed in two Grand Tours and finished sixth in both the Giro and the Vuelta. He also won a stage in the Vuelta a España.

He’ll now be watching the Grand Tours from the sidelines. He’ll be cheering on Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, with Remco Evenepoel and Lipowitz, but he’ll undoubtedly also be keeping an eye on his friends and peers Del Toro and Piganzoli, who are competing in the Tour.

"Although I don't think the overall victory is up for grabs given Pogacar's form. I'm counting on Remco and Florian to make their mark in the fight for the podium."