“I thought about stopping and abandoning” - Giulio Pellizzari reveals Giro d’Italia nightmare almost came to a head on Stage 17

Giulio Pellizzari has admitted he thought about abandoning the 2026 Giro d’Italia after another painful day on stage 17, as the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider’s race continues to unravel after beginning with genuine GC expectations.

Pellizzari finished 13:29 behind stage winner Michael Valgren in Andalo, having been distanced with around 140 kilometres still to race. It came just one day after his general classification hopes collapsed on the stage to Cari, where he lost heavy time and slipped out of serious podium contention.

The Italian had started the Giro as part of Red Bull’s two-pronged GC plan alongside Jai Hindley, but illness, fatigue and the demands of three-week racing have turned his home Grand Tour into a brutal test of survival.

“Yes, I thought about stopping and abandoning, more today than yesterday at Cari,” Pellizzari told Gazzetta dello Sport after stage 17. “I wanted to do it straight away. This situation bothers me a lot. But we’ll take it slowly, it will get better.”

Pellizzari’s stage 17 ride was not a chase for the result. It was about getting through the day and trying to recover ahead of the final mountain tests still to come.

After crossing the line, Gazzetta reported that his first thought was to look for his girlfriend, Andrea, as he sought comfort at one of the lowest points of his young career. “I need to recover my strength, so when I can drop back, I take advantage of it,” Pellizzari explained. “Tomorrow will also be a recovery day, ahead of the two mountain stages on Friday and Saturday.”

That is now the new reality of his Giro. The race began with Pellizzari carrying the status of a protected rider, not simply a youngster learning the ropes. Red Bull arrived with Hindley and Pellizzari as their two central GC names, supported by riders such as Aleksandr Vlasov, Giovanni Aleotti, Nico Denz, Gianni Moscon and Mick van Dijke.

For a while, that plan still looked alive. Pellizzari remained inside the wider GC picture through the first half of the race, even after stomach issues had already interrupted his momentum. But the damage at Cari effectively ended his own overall bid and shifted Red Bull’s focus more firmly towards Hindley’s podium hopes.

Red Bull have been keen to protect Pellizzari from a simple pressure narrative. Zak Dempster, the team’s Chief of Sports, said the problem is physical rather than mental and framed the experience as part of the process for a young Grand Tour rider.

“Giulio is disappointed, obviously, but he has fought so hard,” Dempster told Gazzetta. “It is part of the growth process of a Grand Tour rider and we fully support him. I don’t think it is a question of psychological pressure,” he added. “It is more a health problem and, in the end, that is what weighs most.”

That distinction matters. Pellizzari has not simply cracked under expectation. His Giro has been shaped by physical problems at the exact moment he was trying to confirm his place as one of Italy’s brightest Grand Tour prospects.

Dempster also pointed to the speed of Pellizzari’s rise. Last year, he had ended up fighting for GC almost unexpectedly at the Giro and Vuelta. This time, he started with the declared aim of riding for the general classification, bringing a different level of expectation with it.

There may still be a role for him before Rome. Red Bull remain focused on Hindley’s podium challenge, and Pellizzari could yet be used in support if he recovers enough for the final mountain stages. “We want to help Jai get onto the podium,” Dempster said. “Giulio will give everything he has.”

For now, Pellizzari’s Giro has become a fight to salvage something from a race that began with far greater ambitions. Stage 17 nearly brought that fight to an end, but the final mountains still offer him one last chance to turn survival back into purpose.