She’s a tough business, this pro cycling game. Mike Woods once summed it up the best, saying how cycling is a cruel, cruel sport.
One minute you’re up, the next you’re down. Just ask the young Italian hope Giulio Pellizzari.
Sure, he had a smile on his face after crossing the finish line in Rome, but it was the smile of a dude who was just relieved to finally be done.
Expectations leading up to the Giro
The 22-year-old Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe climber arrived at the Giro d’Italia carrying the hopes of many Italian fans after a strong spring campaign. Some even viewed him as a potential challenger to Jonas Vingegaard.
Instead, a combination of illness and bad days in the mountains turned his three-week race into a battle for survival rather than a fight for the podium.
😥 He lost the #GirodItalia yesterday, and he’s now losing contact to the peloton in the first GPM
Giulio Pellizzari is dropped, with more than 140 km remaining.
📺 Follow the #Giroditalia on TV, and on socials, wherever you are 🌐 pic.twitter.com/TGO2OqQA7j
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 27, 2026
Speaking after Stage 21, Pellizzari admitted he was simply happy to see the Giro come to an end.
“I am proud to have arrived here in Rome, especially considering how I was doing in recent days,” Pellizzari told Cycling Pro Net, as reported by Wielerflits. “Now I give everything away. I don’t want to keep any memories of this Giro. I’m going to burn all the bib numbers and all the jerseys.”
Sure, he was laughing as he said that, but there’s truth in a joke, as they always say.
“Joy, because it’s over,” he said. “An agony has come to an end, a real agony.”
Best laid plans went sideways for Pellizzari
The Italian’s Giro began to unravel during the second week when stomach issues affected both his health and form. While he showed occasional flashes of the climbing talent that made him one of the most talked-about riders heading into the race, he was ultimately unable to recover enough to challenge for the general classification. He did end up being a great teammate to Jai Hindley, however. His Australian teammate ended up finishing third overall.
The 22-year-old has definitely been climbing the ranks in recent years. In 2024, then riding for VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè, he took an emotional second-place finish on a Giro stage.
On the final climb, UAE’s Tadej Pogačar caught him while wearing the pink jersey and rode on to the…
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