"He told me to stay calm..." - New Visma talent on Giro d'Italia preparation and collaboration with Jonas Vingegaard

At 23 years of age Davide Piganzoli is riding his first season at World Tour level and the responsibility is big. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike has been racing with Jonas Vingegaard, and has been tasked with providing the Dane with support in the mountains of the Giro d'Italia where the Dutch team is going to the main favourite for the overall win.

"In the winter of 2025, I had already held the necessary conversations with WorldTour teams. It was an important decision I had to make, but I immediately got a good feeling at Team Visma | Lease a Bike," Piganzoli shared with Wielerevue. The signing was one of many from which Visma looks to extract the potential from its riders - lacking the budget to sign huge names or buy out contracts as do teams such as UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek.

"They hope to help me develop into one of the general classification leaders. The coming three years will be a great process to find out how far I can actually go. This is the best environment where I can improve and discover where my limits lie." The plan is long-term, but his support can be valuable right from the get-go.

The Italian showed right from the start of his stint with Visma what he is capable of doing, by finishing sixth at the mountainous Faun-Ardèche Classic, won by Paul Seixas at the time. "I have had an excellent winter, and in the first race of the season I immediately produced excellent wattages."

Piganzoli raced Paris-Nice where Vingegaard was a last-minute entry, but a crash led him to withdraw from the race, ultimately not having a big role in the overall win. "Jonas came to me to give advice. He told me to stay calm and not to rush my recovery," Piganzoli shared. "The week after Paris-Nice, he sent me another message to ask how I was feeling and how my recovery was going. When a champion like him sends that, it means a lot to me. It shows what a leader he is."

At the Volta a Catalunya the two teamed up once again and here the Italian had good form and put in work over the mountainous stages for the Dane, who would again win the overall classification.

Piganzoli, Top15 over the past two editions of the Giro, now takes on the Corsa Rosa with a domestique role, but part of a team that carries a great deal of responsibility.