"He can become a great rider" - Sepp Kuss full of praise for young Piganzoli after stellar Giro performances

Team Visma | Lease a Bike were the expected overlords of the first mountain tests of the 2026 Giro d'Italia - and they haven't disappointed so far. As a matter of fact, their dominance has been even more oppressive than we might've expected with Davide Piganzoli controlling situation in a third place on Corno alla Scale, behind stage winner Jonas Vingegaard.

That the Dane would triumph in first two summit finishes of this Giro therefore did not come as a surprise, however Piganzoli's performance - that's another cup of coffee. The 23-year-old Italian's already in his third Giro participation, but between 13th and 14th places overall and a 3rd place in a GC mountain stage is a massive difference.

"For Davide it is very important to stay as close as possible to Jonas, and he is doing that very well," Marc Reef echoed Davide Piganzoli's words immediately after the stage in an interview with In de Leiderstrui.

The reason is strictly practical - the two riders share very similar figure - Vingegaard is listed as 175 cm tall at 60 kg, Piganzoli 174 cm at 61 kg - allowing both to run similar bike setups and switch bicycles in case of need: "If something happens to Jonas or to his bike, he can immediately swap with Davide. That is one of the reasons," Reef highlights.

Even though Piganzoli was the stand out name of Sunday's stage, Reef points out that all the nominated riders are riding according to, if not above, the team's expectations with Sepp Kuss further in 8th position in ninth stage.

"We are very strong across the team," Reef said. "That is good for now, but we still have to prove that we can maintain this level in the second and especially the third week. There will be moments when our rivals attack, possibly from far out. We have to be ready for that."

Can we expect Visma to possibly employ multiple-leader strategy, as we saw at the 2023 Vuelta a Espana?

Despite Piganzoli’s strong position (currently 13th, only 1:11 off sixth place Thymen Arensman) after nine stages, Visma is not treating him as a general classification card. The priority remains clear: winning the Giro with Vingegaard. Reef expects the upcoming time trial to cost Piganzoli time, and underlined that his role was discussed before the race.

"The goal is to win the Giro with Jonas," Reef decalred without any hesitation. "Davide is here to support him. He will not ride for the general classification."

Without Wilco Kelderman who had to abandon the Giro after a crash on stage two, the mountain support is mostly up to Piganzoli and Sepp Kuss. The 2023 Vuelta winner had already praised the young Italian after his performance on Blockhaus, where he blew up the peloton on the windy ascent, but his performance on Corno alla Scale was on a whole another level.

"If he continues like this and keeps enjoying it, he can become a great rider," Kuss told Eurosport. "For such a young guy, he did an amazing job."