"I suffered a lot today" - Viral infection continues to affect Giulio Pellizzari as Red Bull tries to overcome difficult week

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe arrived at the Giro d'Italia perhaps as Jonas Vingegaard's biggest rivals however the opening week of the race was not overly favourable to the German squad. Currently, both Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley are trying to overcome illness in order to remain in the fight for the podium.

On stage 9, Giulio Pellizzari had an unusually modest performance on the summit finish to Corno alle Scale. This would later be justified by stomach issues. These have spread in the team, with him, Gianni Moscon and Jai Hindley all reportedly not training during the Giro's rest day.

On the time trial both defended themselves quite well, a much needed positive sign. But on stage 11 Pellizzari was in trouble onc again. “I suffered a lot today too, but we saved ourselves once again. Fortunately, it's just a virus, there's nothing else, one is more than enough," Pellizzari said in words to Cyclingnews.

"It's difficult to recover on the run, we can only hope for a gradual recovery. Let's hope for a calmer day today in Novi Ligure. We've worked hard to achieve something at the Giro, so we have to fight while we can.”

The German team had the luck of having these issues away from the high mountains, as the Corsa Rosa is now undergoing several hilly transition days. On Saturday the race returns to the high mountains with a colossal day on the Valle d'Aosta.

Jai Hindley is not suffering as much from the gastrointestinal problems that have seen Pellizzari come down in the overall classification, but admits he is not yet at the level he hopes for. “I didn't have stomach problems, I had something else. I'm not 100%. My condition mirrors how I looked after the time trial (pale, ed.). The day before the rest day, I wasn't feeling very well. Luckily, I was able to recover a bit during the rest day.”

Both riders stand sixth and ninth in the overall classification into stage 12, something they will try to improve on in the second half of the race. Felix Gall and Thymen Arensman may prove to be very difficult rivals in the fight to get on the podium.

“For me, a 42 kilometer time trial isn't fun when I'm not 100%. It was a really demanding test. I'm happy I finished it. I was hoping for a better performance and could have done better if I had been 100%," Hindley continued.

"I was pushing about 25 watts below my normal pace. It was still a good effort, but pacing was crucial. If I had pushed all my way in the second half, it would have been a never-ending effort. I managed it, but I didn't feel at my best. I had to suffer to hold on.”