"I’m going to burn all the race numbers and all the jerseys": Giulio Pellizzari turns page after disaster Giro

Giulio Pellizzari painted a fairy tale Giro d'Italia in his mind, but instead ended up with his dreams shattered. Arriving to Bulgarian Grande Partenza as the expected number one challenger of Jonas Vingegaard, the reality hit as soon as the first big mountain test. While on Blockhaus, Pellizzari managed to limit his losses, the following stages were marked by suffering as the young Italian tumbled down the rankings to conclude the race in 21st place overall.

But considering the tough moments he's faced in stage 16 to Cari, even finishing the entire race comes as a success for the original Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe leader.

"I am proud to have arrived here in Rome, especially considering how I was doing these past few days," Pellizzari told Cycling Pro Net after the final day of racing.

The 22-year-old continues, noting that there's not a whole lot to look back at from this Giro: "Now I’m giving it all away. I don’t want to keep a single memory of this Giro," he laughed. "I’m going to burn all the race numbers and all the jerseys. After that, we’ll think about the next race."

Regarding his immediate emotions after the race conclusion, a sense of relief prevails: "[I feel] joy... because it is over! An end has come to an ordeal, a real ordeal. I think the hardest part begins now: processing everything that has happened and coming to terms with it. But I am glad it is over. Now we start working on the next challenge."

Pellizzari has had a pretty tough time over the past three weeks, but he doesn't want to think about that for the next few hours. After the final stage, he seemed intent on literally and figuratively washing away the sour taste. "I can’t say more about that [race], certainly not tonight!" he concludes with a laugh.

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe bounce back in the standings thanks to their second leader, a former Giro winner Jai Hindley, who stepped in following Pellizzari's drop out of the general classification to climb onto final podium himself. With a third place, the Australian has now completed his collection of "medals" at the Giro, adding bronze to his 2022 gold and 2020 silver.