Heads-up, Vingegaard: Giulio Pellizzari could become your biggest Giro threat

Giulio Pellizzari has been showing for a couple of years now that he can ride a bike very fast, but the still-very-young Italian seems to have undergone a crucial transformation in 2026. After his victory on day two of the Tour of the Alps, IDL Pro Cycling asked him about the shift — one visible in the very look in the climbing talent's eyes. He gave a detailed answer.

As mentioned, Pellizzari has been a presence in the professional peloton for a while. He arrived at Bardiani in 2022 and gradually made his mark at the Italian team. What began in 2024 with a Giro stage — where he was narrowly beaten by his idol Tadej Pogačar — developed last year into sixth place at both the Giro and the Vuelta a España. In Spain, he also won a stage.

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe promoted Pellizzari to one of their team leaders last winter, and in that role he has already finished third at both the Ronde van Valencia and Tirreno-Adriatico this year. A win, however, had eluded him — until stage two of the Tour of the Alps. He won a sprint between the GC riders on a punchy finish, recording his second professional victory.

"Finally winning in one of the most beautiful races in the world," a jubilant Pellizzari said, having narrowly edged out a surprise Thymen Arensman. At the press conference, the winner added: "I didn't have my best legs and felt a bit tired from the start, to be honest. But the team worked incredibly hard all day, just as they have over the past month at altitude in Tenerife. So I had to make the most of it."

For someone with tired legs, Pellizzari was still impressively strong. On the final climb he initially appeared unable to follow, but that turned out to be a tactical move. "I rode the climb at my own pace. Lorenzo Finn was at the front, so that was perfect. When I crossed over, I immediately kept going so that Lorenzo could sit on my wheel and attack again."

That ultimately wasn't necessary, because a small group of GC riders came together, from which Pellizzari sprinted to victory. "My first instinct was just to survive, but when I noticed the pace wasn't that high, I went for it. The fact that we won on a difficult day for me — I'm proud of that. I gave more than I perhaps had in me."

The sprint was, according to Pellizzari, important proof that he has taken another step in terms of explosiveness. "I trained a lot with Jai Hindley on Tenerife, and we had a lot of fun with the uphill sprints. Sometimes I beat him, and that has definitely improved my explosiveness. The long climbs are still my territory, though, so this was a good test for the whole Giro squad."

Unfortunately Pellizzari will have to ride the rest of the Tour of the Alps without the help of Lorenzo Finn. The Italian crashed out of stage 3 in a massive crash that took down 30 or so riders.

At the Giro, Pellizzari will share team leadership with Hindley — as he did at the 2025 Vuelta. And to improve on last year's sixth place in the Italian Grand Tour, Pellizzari has taken steps on several fronts beyond just his explosiveness. He has already tasted team leadership several times this season, but in a pre-race press release ahead of the Tour of the Alps he spoke of taking "the final step."

"In the winter I worked on my strength and explosiveness," the Italian said at the time. "In modern cycling you have to handle the changes of pace if you want to win. Training every day alongside champions like Primož Roglič, Florian Lipowitz and Remco Evenepoel helps me with that. I know what I still need to reach their level." And there it was — that "final step" — on Tuesday.

Asked about that comment and what the final step towards the top level actually means, Pellizzari responded with real seriousness. "It's mainly a mental thing. After Tirreno-Adriatico I thought a lot about it, because I wasn't really happy with a third place there. I was actually disappointed not to have won, and maybe I had been missing that emotion a little in recent years — that winning mentality."

With a look full of grinta, Pellizzari linked it directly to Tuesday's stage win. "Today I was only thinking about winning. That is genuinely a step I have taken in the past period." The Giro competition has been warned. In May, the Red Bull leader will line up against, among others, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and João Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG).