Visma success story Piganzoli put Giro d'Italia's big names in the hurt locker on Blockhaus

Jonas Vingegaard won stage seven of the Giro d'Italia. But the Dane had a lot of help from teammates to create the platform for it. Davide Piganzoli caught the eye of commentators and fans with his turn at the front: climbing, fully exposed in the wind. The 23-year-old Italian had already been impressive earlier in this Giro, and spoke to IDL Pro Cycling about his remarkable development as a rider.

Piganzoli joined Visma | Lease a Bike last winter, moving across from the ProTeam Polti VisitMalta. "In the end it was the team's project that impressed me the most," he said when the transfer was announced. He even called compatriot and now-teammate Edoardo Affini before signing, and Affini's words only made him more enthusiastic.

When he returned to the media in April, Piganzoli looked back on his first months in the Dutch team's colours with clear excitement. "I've improved enormously. The numbers prove it," he said. The reason those numbers hadn't yet translated into results was largely because he followed the same programme as Vingegaard — at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya — both of which Vingegaard won.

Working for Vingegaard in his first WorldTour year is something Piganzoli does with genuine pleasure. Before the Giro, Wilco Kelderman — also speaking to IDL Pro Cycling — was extremely enthusiastic about him: "Davide is incredibly eager to learn and simply very, very good — let's not beat around the bush. He could ride a top ten at the Giro in his own right. Maybe he sits just below Sepp Kuss — but that is already enormously important."

In the first two mountain tests for Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike, it has been not Kuss but Piganzoli who has made the decisive difference at the front of the race. Before the start of stage seven, he told us: "Every day can be different. Sepp and I are here to help Jonas as much and as well as we can — and if one of us feels better than the other on a given day, that's the one who'll be the last man."

On Blockhaus, big names including Egan Bernal (Netcompany INEOS), Enric Mas (Movistar) and several others were dropped when Piganzoli stood on the pedals. The Italian continued to ride hard after his turn — but was clear about where his ambitions lie: "A GC result isn't on the table at all. We're here purely to win the Giro with Jonas. He is the strongest rider and our only leader. We all work for him."

Piganzoli is in the same generation as UAE and Red Bull leaders Isaac del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari. And his progress has accelerated dramatically since joining Visma | Lease a Bike. Before the Blockhaus stage, he said with evident pride: "I'm genuinely much better than last year — my values have gone up between five and seven per cent. On day two I was already able to launch Jonas well, and I hope to keep helping in the same way."

Five to seven per cent more — at 400 watts, that's already 28 additional watts if we calculate at seven per cent. Any rider would be delighted with that, which explains Piganzoli's enthusiasm. Together with Vingegaard, he had already been dreaming on Mount Teide of what they might achieve in the Giro. "When we were there on altitude camp, we were already talking about Blockhaus. We were really looking forward to it — and Jonas looks fantastic."

Piganzoli had already said before the stage that Visma | Lease a Bike intended to win with Vingegaard. And they did.