Piganzoli called Affini about move to Visma | Lease a Bike: “That answer appealed to me”

Cycling was something the 23-year-old Italian grew up with. His father was a passionate fan and gave him his first road bike when he was still young — and it was love at first sight. “After a few pedal strokes, I told my parents that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” Piganzoli said on his team's website.

It soon became clear that the young man was very talented. In 2021 he made the move to Kometa u23, the training team of EOLO-Kometa, the team of Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso. They also saw that Piganzoli was an excellent young climber. A year later he rode himself into the spotlight by finishing fifth in the Tour de l'Avenir, three minutes behind winner Cian Uijtdebroeks.

It soon became clear the young rider had plenty of talent. In 2021, he moved to Kometa U23, the development team linked to EOLO-Kometa — Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso’s set-up — and they also saw Piganzoli as an outstanding young climber. A year later he rode himself into the spotlight by finishing fifth at the Tour de l’Avenir, three minutes behind winner Cian Uijtdebroeks.

His breakthrough year was only just getting started. Piganzoli rode his first Giro d’Italia and finished 13th overall. In the autumn he then delivered a superb result at the Giro dell’Emilia. “There I was on the podium with Tadej Pogačar and Tom Pidcock — not exactly small names,” the Italian laughed. After a very consistent 2025, he received a call from Visma | Lease a Bike.

For the rider from Morbegno, it was a dream come true. To be sure about the move, he reached out to an experienced member of the “Killer Bees” — Visma’s long-running nickname in the peloton. “I wanted to know what the team was like from the inside, so I called Edo to ask if he could tell me a bit more about it. He said Team Visma | Lease a Bike was one big family. That answer really appealed to me,” said Piganzoli, referring to Edoardo Affini

This year, Piganzoli will once again line up at the Giro d’Italia — but where he had a freer role in the past two editions, things will be different now. Jonas Vingegaard is the leader. “That I get to go to the Giro in my first year and help Jonas straight away — I think that’s really great. I’m going to do everything I can to support him there as best as possible.”

Helping the Dane win overall in Italy would be special, but for the young climber there is still one race that sits above the Giro. “Il Lombardia is my dream race,” said Piganzoli. “It’s close to my home and I love riding there. The Giro comes second.”