Pellizzari hopes to go toe to toe with Vingegaard more often after early Giro duel

Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt look back on stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia with a positive feeling. The pair didn't take a result, but on the stage's final classified climb they were both able to respond to Jonas Vingegaard's acceleration and go with the Visma | Lease a Bike leader. For once, the Dane didn't ride away alone — and that in itself is an encouraging sign.

Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike went full gas on the Lyaskovets Monastery Pass, a 3.9-kilometre climb averaging 6.6%. Shortly after a heavy crash had struck the peloton, the yellow-and-black squad stuck to their plan and Davide Piganzoli launched his leader. When Vingegaard went, however, there were riders capable of responding.

Initially that was Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), but when the Swiss rider cracked, Pellizzari and Van Eetvelt closed the gap impressively. The two worked together on the descent and heading towards the finish, but with stage victory in their sights they began to play a tactical waiting game. That hesitation let a large group back in — and it was Guillermo Thomas Silva who claimed the win.

In a brief post-stage interview, Pellizzari was satisfied with his effort. The 22-year-old Italian sprinted to fifth place but was above all pleased that he had been able to match Vingegaard on the climb. "I felt good. It was a nice finale, after quite a boring stage. My legs are good and I held my own. Jonas was very strong, so I'm happy I was able to stay with him."

The following day, speaking before the start of stage 3, Pellizzari briefly returned to his impressive performance — but he was equally clear-eyed when the question of a possible GC duel with Vingegaard came up. "I look at myself and I felt good. We can have confidence — but it was only a short climb. That's something very different from, say, the Blockhaus on stage 7."

And so a lead of around half a minute evaporated, and with it Van Eetvelt's pink jersey dream. Because Pellizzari also sat on a few turns, the two of them between them cost Vingegaard the win. "A shame, but it was great to ride a finale like that. The form is good, and that's the most important thing. There are still nineteen days to go, so let's show what we can do," Van Eetvelt said.

The Belgian also via his team's official channels: "I know that on a good day I can be up there with those guys. I haven't been able to show that very often, but today was one of those days. Those guys were incredibly strong and I was counting on them riding on for the GC. The pace dropped, though, so I gambled wrong. We all watched each other a bit too much."