“I didn’t win the stage as I’d hoped but I think time is on my side” - Giulio Pellizzari impresses again on stage 20 of debut Giro d'Italia

Although he was relatively quiet over the first two weeks, Giulio Pellizzari has been one of the stars of the third week at the 2024 Giro d'Italia. Again on stage 20, the Italian was incredibly impressive, but again was denied a stage win by Tadej Pogacar.

“I didn’t win the stage as I’d hoped but I think time is on my side,” reflected the 20-year-old of the VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè team in his post-stage interview, clearly enjoying every second of his Grand Tour debut. “When I was on the climb alone, everyone was calling my name and cheering me on. It made me feel as if I had three legs!"

With UAE Team Emirates setting a firm pace at the front of the peloton on the first ascent of the Monte Grappa, Pellizzari and co began the climb four minutes down. With the young Italian the only rider brave enough to attack from the Maglia Rosa group, Pellizzari quickly picked his way through the breakaway and summitted the climb first for maximum King of the Mountains points.

Keeping his attack going on the descent and the subsequent second ascent of the Monte Grappa, Pellizzari was finally caught by a counter-attacking Pogacar near the summit. Although he managed to hold the wheel for a short while, eventually the pace of the UAE Team Emirates leader was just too much for Pellizzari. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old managed to keep pace with the rest of the general classification riders when they caught him and eventually crossed the line in the same group as the likes of Daniel Martinez and Geraint Thomas in sixth place.

Although the stage win proved elusive, Pellizzari scored enough points to take second place in the King of the Mountains classification, meaning the 20-year-old will ride into Rome in the Maglia Azzura as the leader in the classification, Pogacar has the Maglia Rosa on his shoulders.