"If the team works for me, I have to live up to it": Giulio Pellizzari sets out to meet Red Bull's expectations at Giro

Giulio Pellizzari was not immediately considered among the main names heading into the 2026 Giro d'Italia, however with a long list of absentees (among others Joao Almeida and 2019 champion Richard Carapaz) and many contenders' current shape covered by fog of question marks, the young Italian has suddenly risen to a position of very serious podium contender, especially after his excellent Tour of the Alps.

Now embedded within the Red Bull squad, the 22-year-old no longer settles for prospect status or high-end domestique duties. He steps up with maturity to shoulder the expectations of the host nation. His steady progression, underlined by two top-10 finishes in Grand Tours last season, now places him as the most credible alternative to the overwhelming favourite, Visma's Jonas Vingegaard.

Anticipation is high. Pellizzari embodies a real chance to end a home drought that stretches back a decade, when Vincenzo Nibali stood atop the podium in Milan.

The rider’s motivation is palpable, and his words reflect iron determination for this new professional challenge. Pellizzari knows the landscape has shifted, and his role within the German structure has evolved significantly after his early-season success.

With the humility of someone grounded in his roots and the ambition of a rider aiming to define an era, the climber recalls his beginnings as a spectator to project a future on Italy’s most demanding summits.

In his latest comments, he made his change in mindset clear: "I want to understand how far I can really go," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Last year I was support [for Primoz Roglic], today I’m not. If the team works for me, I have to live up to it."

This commitment to his teammates and the fans intertwines with the nostalgia of his heroes, admitting that "I grew up in front of the TV, watching Vincenzo drop everyone in the maglia rosa under the snow in 2013, on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo." Now it is his turn to create iconic moments for the next generation of Italian cyclists.