"The whole sunglasses thing with Pogacar made me more famous than if I had actually won the stage" - Giulio Pellizzari recounts the viral Giro d'Italia story

Giulio Pellizzari carries the hopes of Italian cycling - country that is desperate for a successor to the 2010s Grand Tour winners Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru. In that regard, joining the strong project of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is certainly a step in the right direction. But it won't be easy as the German team is ready to throw the 20-year-old in the deep end against stars like Tadej Pogacar.

When we mention the Slovenian who had completed Giro-Tour double this year, Pellizzari and Pogacar have a quite history with each other. Their first encounter was in 2018, but everyone remembers the viral scenes from after this year's Giro stage 16.

The Italian was on the way to stage victory there until the Pink phenomenon flied by and shattered the youngster's dream. Unphased by what just happened, Pellizzari approached the Slovenian after stage to ask for his pink glasses, receiveing that and pink jersey on top!

"The whole sunglasses thing with Pogacar made me even more famous than if I had actually won the stage," Pellizzari laughs about it at Rouleur.

Pellizzari made a name for himself at the 2023 Tour de l'Avenir. He battled with Isaac Del Toro, future teammate of Tadej Pogacar, in the mountains to eventually come out second overall. "I did really well but since it’s an under-23 race, you never know exactly how you measure up against the pros," Pellizzari still wasn't always certain that he could go up against the world's best - it still felt a bit distant...

Until one morning in January, he woke up and saw the Mexican whom he fought at Avenir win a stage of Tour Down Under: "I only realised what I’d achieved this January when I woke up one morning and saw that Del Toro had won the first WorldTour race of the year and I was racing against him at l’Avenir. Seeing him do so well among the pros gave me a real boost for the year."

Then came Giro - Pellizzari's big objective. But the start was from fairy tale as the young rider battled sickness more than his opponents. Eventually the unwell feeling let go in the third week and form finally kicked in.

"In the third week, I got my legs back, taking on the mountain stages with a lot of anger and a strong desire to prove myself," he says. "Even now, when I think back to the day on Monte Grappa (stage 20, he finished sixth with the main GC group), I get goosebumps."

"I love putting on a show," Pellizzari smiles mischievously. "When my legs feel good, I just can’t sit still. I attack, I always give it a go, even though sometimes I should be more patient. I’m still working on finishing, I should win more, but attacking is just too much fun." Just like his idol - Pogacar.