Giulio Pellizzari sprints into Tirreno-Adriatico leader’s jersey on bonuses: “I don’t know how I did it”

In the elite group that ended up sprinting for victory, there was no shortage of fast finishers. Filippo Ganna, Andrea Vendrame, Wout van Aert and eventual winner Van der Poel were all still there, but Pellizzari somehow launched himself to second place behind the Dutchman.

“I don’t know how I did it!” Pellizzari said afterwards. “I came with a lot of speed in the sprint. I think I actually won the sprint from the group, but Van der Poel was already ahead.” Even so, second place was a hugely valuable result for a rider who had started the day with the general classification in mind.

“Taking these bonus seconds now is very important. But I don’t think the GC will be decided by this second place,” said the Red Bull rider, who nevertheless takes the leader’s jersey for at least one day thanks to those bonuses.

The outcome came as a real surprise to Pellizzari himself. “I didn’t expect this, but I’m very happy and emotional.” The Italian now hopes he can hold on to the leader’s jersey in his home race. “I hope I have the legs to keep it, but we’ll take it day by day, without pressure,” said the new race leader, who takes the jersey from his rival.

“I’ve been trying since the junior ranks to close the gap to Isaac,” Pellizzari added, referring to Del Toro. He had also considered launching an attack himself, but in the end found himself having to respond to the Mexican instead. “I felt good, but I was already expecting an attack from Del Toro. Fortunately, I was able to follow him.”

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According to Pellizzari, he also owes the leader’s jersey in part to his teammates. “What I’ve improved the most recently is my positioning, thanks to my teammates. That was crucial in taking the jersey,” said the Italian appreciatively. He also stressed how comfortable he feels in the atmosphere within the German team.

“They’re fantastic. When we sit down together at the table in the evening, it feels like I’m sitting with friends. I’m really happy,” Pellizzari said. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe also still has Primož Roglič high up on general classification. The experienced Slovenian sits third overall, 21 seconds behind his teammate.