Rising Italian star Giulio Pellizzari gave himself a huge confidence boost with only two weeks till start of the Giro d'Italia when he won stage five and the GC at the Tour of the Alps on Friday.
The 22-year-old attacked on the final climb, distancing GC rivals Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal (both Ineos Grenadiers), before descending with aplomb to the finish at Bolzano, northern Italy.
Bernal out-sprinted defending champion Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Arensman, with the Ineos pair finishing second and third on GC.
Italian fans could hardly have dreamed of a finer denouement to the race; their great hope of finally finding a stage race talent who could, one day, repeat Vincenzo Nibali's 2016 Giro d'Italia victory – the nation's most recent, coming through in style. Just in time for their national tour, too.
As Pellizzari crossed the line he sat up and took the plaudits, and the cheering echoed around Bolzano, while in the post-stage press conference Stefano Garzelli, a former winner himself 26 years ago, was grabbing selfies with the young pretender.
The riders enjoyed a day that just about perfect for a bike race: it was run off in unseasonably warm temperatures and under a solid blue sky. Starting in Trento, it took the riders to their destination through stunning Alpine scenery and included two major climbs with a descent to the finish.
The first climb, the cat-one Cologna di Sopra, saw an attack by Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling), who was joined by Juan Felipe Rodriguez (EF Education-EasyPost). They held on over the top, but were ultimately caught by the favourites at the foot of the second climb.
Speaking after the race, a relaxed Pellizzari said that the primary aim had been to use the Tour of the Alps as a training race ahead of the Giro d'Italia, but it became more than that as the week progressed.
"The goal was to train on the long climbs and understand what I needed to improve," he said. "I was not 100% confident but a little by little I got better.
The stage represented only his third professional victory (his win on stage two was the second), and the overall win was the first time he'd won a stage race. Leading the race was a different experience to what he'd been used to in the past – he'd learned about the pressures involved.
"It's really different. In the last year I was just a helper. I started the race thinking, 'I hope I can perform'. This morning I had no choice, I had to perform. You can't just say 'I don't have the legs', you have to give a lot."
Asked about how the race affected his Giro confidence, he said:
"The race has given us a greater awareness, we can rest a little safer now, a little more confident now that we did a great thing for a team.
"I hope I'm not so far [from Jonas Vingegaard]. I'm missing a bit the shape to be ready for the Giro. I have something to improve but for me, for the team and for the people watching I hope it will be open until the end."
Red Bull-Bora-hangrohe director sportif Christian Pomer said after the stage that the aim would be to fight for the GC podium at the Giro d'Italia with Pellizzari.
"I think he can be really happy with what he achieved here," Pomer said. "And also with how the team work together, and also how the supporting group work with the team. I think we can be, we can be confident to to have also a chance to fight for the podium at the Giro."
Pellizzari will now attend an altitude camp with team-mate Gianni Moscon – who will ride with him at the Giro d'Italia – before flying out to Bulgaria for the Grande Partenza.
Tour of the Alps stage 5, Trento > Bolzano, 128.6km
1. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, 128km in 3:20:36
2. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +30s
3. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling
4. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, both at same time
5. Jacob Omrzel (Slov) Bahrain Victorious, +1.10
6. Chris Harper (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling
7. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Jayco-AlUla
8. Mathys Rondel (Fra) Tudor Pro Cycling, all at same time
9. Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +2.20
10. Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2.22
Final general classification
1. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, in 19:02:52
2. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +40s.
3. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, +50s
4. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +1.09
5. Mathys Rondel (Fra) Tudor Pro Cycling, +1.45
6. Jacob Omrzel (Slov) Bahrain Victorious, +1.55
7. Chris Harper (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling at s.t.
8. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Jayco-AlUla, +1.59
9. Alexandr Vlasov (Rus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +2.51
10. Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +3.11
