"I expected growth, but a gradual kind" - In the absence of Vingegaard, Davide Piganzoli takes over Visma leadership
Cycling
Davide Piganzoli is one of the breakthrough riders of the 2026 season. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike headliner began the year as a question mark in the Dutch team and ends it as its leader for Il Lombardia - the final monument of the season.
“I expected growth, but a gradual kind. Instead, it was a major leap in quality, not just in terms of performance and results, but physically as well," Piganzoli shared with Gazzetta dello Sport.
Piganzoli had previous raced for several years at Alberto Contador's Polti structure - both elite and under-23 level. Part of Visma's transfer policy over the past few years has been on young riders from the lower categories of the sport, and the Italian fit right in. A three-year deal was signed, and it couldn't have been a better pay off for the Dutch team.
Overall wins at La Route d'Occitanie and Tour de Luxembourg, solo win at the mythical Giro dell'Emilia and super-domestique roles at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France make for a very successful first season at World Tour level, even if the 24-year old already had experience racing at a high level.
"I’m feeling good. And the team is in great shape. At the Emilia, we placed three riders in the top five, with Tulett fourth and Jorgenson fifth. We’ll try to make our mark,” Piganzoli said ahead of Il Lombardia.
Davide Piganzoli was the winner of the 2026 Giro dell'Emilia
He comes in with great form, having won the Giro dell'Emilia with a late downhill attack. There, Piganzoli won as part of Visma's tactics which involved their multiple riders at the head of the race. He believes that with Tadej Pogacar not taking part at Il Lombardia, the same tactics could earn Visma a second monument win this year.
"An open race, given Pogačar’s absence. But perhaps less chaotic than the World Championships, because there’s more elevation gain and the difficulty level is higher, which narrows down the list of favourites a bit".
Piganzoli reveals Vingegaard contacts
Piganzoli will end his season with the Italian classic after a fall in which he has performed above expectations. At the World Championships he sacrificed himself for Giulio Ciccone, despite his impressive overall win at the Tour de Luxembourg, built on his stage 3 raid in which he caught the dozens of riders present in the day's breakaway.
Piganzoli helped Jonas Vingegaard extensively during the 2026 season, and reveals that the Dane was closely following him during the week of Luxembourg: “He messaged me to say that he was watching me during the Tour de Luxembourg. That really meant a lot to me. He’s a role model and an inspiration to me".
Piganzoli might be a major danger for the 2027 and 2028 seasons when it comes to his own opportunities to lead at World Tour level, and this Saturday's race will be an important leadership test against world-class competition.
He praises his Danish teammate, whom he looks up as a guiding figure in the sport. "Jonas remains very calm within the group until the key moment of the competition arrives. Then, even if something goes wrong, he never stops believing in himself, the team, and what he has done to reach that point."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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