Hindley closing in on the podium & Pellizzari back from the brink — Red Bull have a plan for the final week

Jai Hindley was the third best rider on the road to Pila behind Jonas Vingegaard and Felix Gall, putting the Australian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe in a strong position for a podium finish. But equally striking was the strong showing of teammate Giulio Pellizzari, who finished an impressive fifth. The young Italian has been ill — but is he fully back to his best?

Pellizzari was struggling at the back early in the stage, but each time a rider cracked, he moved a place up the road. Midway up the final climb he seemed to be fading, but he found his own rhythm and suddenly rejoined the chasing group. That climb up the standings — to sixth overall, one and a half minutes off the podium — came after several difficult days of racing.

It was a remarkably mature performance from the climber. "It was a race against myself, and I just gave everything and stayed focused," he told Cyclingnews after the finish. "I can only thank the people who have helped me over the last few days. Without them I would probably have already stopped and gone home."

Ahead of Sunday's stage to Milan, Pellizzari spoke to CyclingPro.net and expanded on his performance on Saturday. "Finally I can say I'm moving forward. I don't feel a hundred percent yet, but I was happy with my form yesterday, and I was happy to be there alongside Jai. We're still on our way to the podium — we can still be in the mix all the way to Rome."

The gap to pink jersey holder Vingegaard is large — very large. But the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe co-leader remains combative and refuses to concede anything. "I've always said that the Giro finishes in Rome, and that goes for everyone. Everyone laughs when I say that, but Jonas will keep racing all the way to Rome. It will be difficult, but we just have to ride our own race."

With the illness not yet fully behind him, Pellizzari is hoping to get some rest over the next few days ahead of a crucial final week. "Let's hope Sunday's stage goes smoothly, and then there's a rest day. I said that this Saturday a new Giro would begin, whatever happened. That turns out to be true."

There are still three stages on paper that are likely to shake up the overall standings. The Italian knows where the race can be won or lost, and has already singled one out. "The Dolomites stage (stage 19) is really hard — there's serious climbing from start to finish.

That looks like the toughest. The stage to Piancavallo (stage 20) is also difficult. The stage to Cari (stage 16) is short with only a brief climb at the end, so I'm not sure about that one. It's going to be hard."