“I raced a lot alongside Roglic – I hope I can race with Primoz and Remco more times”: Giulio Pellizzari learning from the best as Giro d’Italia dream takes shape
Cycling
Giulio Pellizzari does not talk like a rider trying to force his way into a hierarchy. Instead, his reflections reveal a young Grand Tour contender being shaped deliberately inside Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s wider long-term project.
“I raced a lot alongside Roglic last year and learned many things from him,” Pellizzari said in an interview with Marca. “For me, it’s an honour to race with champions like them. I’m very happy to be on this team, and I hope I can race with Primoz and Remco many more times.”
That learning environment is not accidental.
From the moment Red Bull reshaped the structure around experienced Grand Tour winners and emerging GC talents, the stated aim has been to combine immediate results with long-term development. Pellizzari’s comments fit squarely within that model.
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The Giro at the centre of a carefully built season
While surrounded by riders who have already won the biggest races in cycling, Pellizzari is clear about where his own focus lies. “The Giro d’Italia is my main goal, and also my favourite race,” he said. “We’ll have to see how the season develops, but I’m sure I’ll be in good form, just like Jai.”
That positioning matters. Red Bull’s Grand Tour approach has been built around specific leadership per race, rather than a single, all-consuming hierarchy. With Primoz Roglic being targeted elsewhere and Remco Evenepoel central to the Tour project, the Giro becomes the natural focal point for Pellizzari’s next step.
Asked directly about podium ambitions, his tone remains measured. “The podium is a dream,” he said, “but we have to see how the legs are. Three weeks are very long, and you also need luck. We’ll see.”
It is ambition without entitlement, framed by realism rather than pressure.
Progress without shortcuts
Pellizzari believes his form is trending positively, helped by a strong winter and structured preparation. “The form is good, because I had a good training camp on Teide with the team,” he said. “But here we also have Remco, who is very strong and can achieve a better result.”
At 22, he speaks openly about areas still to improve, particularly against the clock. “I feel better on the bike,” he explained. “We’ve taken a step forward in some areas, but looking towards the Giro, I still need to improve in the time trials. We’ll have more opportunities in the next races.”
That openness mirrors the wider Red Bull approach: progress measured over seasons, not rushed within one.
A more selective second half of the year
Unlike 2025, Pellizzari will not attempt a Giro–Vuelta double this season. “This year I won’t ride the Vuelta,” he said. “Last season was very tough, so this year I’ll focus more on the Italian classics at the end of the season: Giro dell’Emilia, Tre Valli Varesine and Lombardia.”
Spain will still feature, but selectively. “I think I’ll do San Sebastian and the Vuelta a Burgos, because they’re races I like. I’ll be in Spain during that period.”
The calendar reflects consolidation rather than expansion.
A longer view shaped by the present
Beyond the Giro, Pellizzari does not hide his longer-term ambition. “I’d like to perform well at the Tour de France, because that’s my dream,” he said. “In five years’ time, I hope to be fighting for the podium or the victory there.”
For now, that future is being built quietly. Racing alongside Roglic. Sharing a team with Evenepoel. Learning inside a structure designed to blend experience with potential.
Pellizzari does not claim to be there yet. But inside Red Bull’s environment, his Giro d’Italia dream is no longer abstract. It is taking shape through proximity to the best riders in the sport, and the patience to learn from them before demanding more.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin is wuite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
- dude, Lemond never even was in the same race as Armstrong. He throws all these aspersions on other American riders who might usurp his throne as the greatest ever American racer. He doesn't say a single thing about (foreign) dopers who he actually raced against. Biggest douchebag move ever. I used to revere that guy, now I despise him. His actions are so weird.fatsupermodel02-11-2026
- This is just stupid, You do what you are good at not what you are weak at. He has no results to speak of when he participated. Even Froome, Conatdor had very little. With Pogi there he wont win none of the classics. he is already 30+ with a few years left at the top. It takes years to get good at classics. Is that really worth the effort???abstractengineer02-11-2026
- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
- You'll be the ongoing joke of 2027 with anything you post here!frieders302-11-2026
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