“I want to test my legs – we will see”: Giulio Pellizzari’s ambition grows at La Vuelta after another summit finish with GC contenders

After another bruising mountain stage at La Vuelta a Espana 2025, Giulio Pellizzari continued to quietly impress on his Vuelta debut. The 21-year-old Italian climbed to the summit finish at Cerler with the group of GC favourites, finishing 2:35 down on stage winner Juan Ayuso and consolidating his position as Best Young Rider in the process.

“Today was really hard from the start,” Pellizzari admitted at the finish. “Everybody was really tired after yesterday and the team time trial. In the end I was better than at the beginning, so that’s good.”

Despite the fatigue, Pellizzari moved up to eighth overall on GC, now just 2:53 behind race leader Torstein Traeen — impressive territory for a rider who started the Vuelta targeting stage wins and support duties.

Pellizzari’s consistency on the climbs is starting to raise eyebrows, though the Italian himself remains grounded about his role and expectations. “The white jersey is a plus,” he said. “It’s not a goal. I came here for the stages and to help Jai Hindley in the mountains.”

Still, with Hindley and Pellizzari still locked on the same time after 7 stages, there's a hint of growing ambition. “Now I’m here, I just want to enjoy this Vuelta with a nice group. I want to test my legs and we’ll see where I can arrive.”

Stage 7 marked a second consecutive mountain test, and riders across the board spoke of heavy legs after the team time trial and two big summit finishes. Pellizzari was no exception, pointing to the cumulative fatigue in the peloton. “I think — and I hope — that everybody [among the favourites] was tired,” he said. “The climb was hard because we were all tired, and we still have a long way to Madrid. There will be a lot of stages to test the legs.”

Looking ahead to Stage 8, which is expected to favour sprinters or breakaway opportunists, Pellizzari made no secret of his hopes. “We’ll see tomorrow. I hope it will be a ‘rest day,’” he said with a grin.

For now, Pellizzari leads the Best Young Rider classification and continues to grow into the race — both figuratively and literally. What began as a support role is slowly becoming one of the Vuelta’s most compelling stories.