As the cliché goes, everything looked great at the Giro d’Italia for Giulio Pellizzari, until it didn’t.
The 22-year-old Italian came into the Corsa Rosa with confidence; after all, he had just won two stages and the overall at the Tour of the Alps. He lined up as co-leader alongside teammate Jai Hindley, the 2022 champion.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's GC hopes began to waver midway through the race as illness took its toll, yet veteran Hindley managed to recover and rediscover his form in the third week, whereas Pellizzari suffered and lost 18 minutes on stage 16.
From then on, the young rider turned his focus to surviving and helping Hindley. On stage 19, Pellizzari joined the decisive break, allowing the Australian to conserve energy in the peloton and he ultimately distanced podium rival Thymen Arensman (Netcompany Ineos) to take third overall.
After crossing the finish line in the Eternal City, Pellizzari said: "I'm proud to have made it to Rome, especially considering how I suffered in the last few days.”
“I'm going to burn my race numbers and give away everything I have from the race so I don't have any memories of this Giro, hoping next time is better.”
Laughing, he added, “I'm actually happy because the suffering is over. This is the race where I've suffered the most.”
After some time to celebrate, the young rider will no doubt reflect on that third week, one that saw him fall from sixth overall after stage 15, just 4:22 off the lead and 38 seconds behind Hindley, to ultimately finish 28th, more than 58 minutes back
“I hope this race helps me grow and mature. I'll need some time to metabolise what happened and the disappointment. For now, I'm just happy it's over.”
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