LIVIGNO – The air at nearly 2.400 meters above sea level at Mottolino, a hamlet of Livigno, is crisp and tingling. It's cold, the temperature barely rising above 8 degrees Celsius, and the riders arrive one by one, with gaps that give the sun time to set behind the horizon. One of the first to arrive, behind the winner of the day and pink jersey, Tadej Pogacar, is Davide Piganzoli. The rider of Polti-Kometa Today he ran at home and on the attack. He broke away and proved to be one of the most active.
The air of home
The warmth that the fans, crowded outside the mixed zone, reserved for Piganzoli was overwhelming. A roar greeted him, he smiled, sat down, and recounted this long and demanding day. "It was our home stage," he said. I tried. I believed in it, but in the end I was a bit lacking in legs.».
"I expected more fighting at the start," the Valtellina native continued, "but the breakaway quickly broke away, with a large group of about fifty riders. As the kilometers passed there was more selection and there were thirty of us leftThere were five of us from Polti and I asked my colleagues to work. Blacksmith he set a great pace on the MortiroloI knew the descent well and so I easily caught up with the riders who had gained an advantage.
Generoso
On the road that slowly led the group from Bormio to the summit of the Foscagno Pass, Piganzoli was one of the most active. He seemed to be the one with the best, freshest legs, so much so that he was the one to make the first move with 30 minutes to go..
«I don't think I was impatient – he continues sitting on the chair in the mixed zone – I was feeling good and had the opportunity to win a stage at Tour of Italy, which doesn't happen every day. I did it partly with my heart and partly with my legs, for my country and my fans. I experienced a day of great emotions that gave me a great desire to do.
"My legs were ultimately what they were. When I tried to stretch them, I thought it was the right time. Pogacar was stronger and it showed».
Pellizzari to find themselves
In the large group that escaped this morning in the first kilometers there was also Giulio PellizzariHe was also among the six riders who gained an advantage on the climbs of Colle San Zeno, anticipating the day's breakaway.
«We went downhill – on Colle San Zeno – I was on the wheel of the boy from Alpecin-Deceuninck who came down really hard and I stayed right behind him. Piganzoli was there too, but he got into a hole and didn't follow us.».
"Maybe we got a little burned out in the valley, with that road that slowly climbed and didn't give us much respite. It probably would have been better to stay in the second group. We paid for those 45 kilometers in the valley, so much so that at the first acceleration (by Piganzoli himself, ed.) I jumped».
The dream of arriving in Rome
Pellizzari breathes. His voice is low and before speaking He takes supplements from the masseur to speed up recovery. He swallows them down with sips of water as bitter as today, but his spirit does not weaken.
«I'm finished, cooked – he confides to us with the fatigue still in his eyes – I tried harder with my head than with my legsIt was a tough stage for everyone, so I tried to get ahead of the game, but it was really tough. I'm not feeling great, I've been feeling bad for the past few days and today I wanted to try to give a signal to myself too.».
«Physically I'm in pieces, I almost wanted to go home. Tomorrow is the rest day, luckily, it's really neededArriving in Rome will already be a success, but I want to try to finish my first Giro d'Italia. In fact, As soon as they dropped me I went up at my own pace to save some energy. Also because the hardest week has yet to begin."
