Giro Ciclisto della Valle d'Aosta, a prestigious under-23 event, was supposed to be an opportunity for young climbers to show their talent on some of the hardest mountain passes on the foot of the Mont Blanc. Instead, a gloomy atmosphere clouded the Italian race after the news of passing of home rider Samuele Privitera (19) came to light.
According to reports, the talented youngster from prominent under-23 academy Hagens Berman Jayco suffered a heart attack after a hour of racing during the first stage of race, falling off his bike. Privitera was immediately treated by the Giro d'Italia ambulance and medical team that performed CPR before transporting to hospital. But sadly, Samuele Privitera lost his fight.
The sad news was confirmed by race organization in a press release, where it's announced that second stage will be cancelled and a tribut to the rider will be paid at the start of third stage.
"Società Ciclistica Valdostana is saddened by the passing of Samuele Privitera. The rider crashed today during the first stage of the Giro della Valle d'Aosta in the municipality of Pontey. Promptly assisted by the medical services following the race, he was taken to the Ospedale Parini in Aosta, where he sadly passed away. The circumstances of the accident are still unclear and are being investigated by public safety authorities.
"In light of the events, the organizing committee has decided to cancel the second stage scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, July 17th, in Passy. The race will resume with the third stage, scheduled for Friday the 18th, from Pré Saint Didier to Col du Gran San Bernardo. This will be preceded by a moment of silence, and the initial stretch of the stage will be neutralized in memory of Samuele. All formal ceremonies are canceled until the end of the event.
"The organizing committee is giving teams the freedom to decide whether to continue the race starting with the third stage."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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