VALENTINE'S DAY – Pellizzari arrives, stops, drinks, puts on his cape, then remains silent. On the day Roglic was forced to retire due to previous doubts and another crash, the Marche native of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe He attacked on the final climb, with 11 kilometers to go. Del Toro detached, as he expected to do for at least two yearsHands in the center, always sitting, the long relationship turned quickly. In these months in the new team, his position has become more composed and effectiveHe got himself taken back by carapaz who was coming from behind like a fury, then he dropped him again. Third at the finish line, ninth in the overall standings and still remains silent.
Fresh and cheerful
You might imagine that something was going through his head, but suddenly he shakes himself, turns to Umberto Martini who is there with his RAI microphone and says: "So, shall we begin?" He laughs when the other tells him that he was waiting for him to recover., but the truth is that Giulio is fine. He's fresh and answers with the tone of someone who already knew everything.
“I told you,” he smiles, “that my moment was coming, and today it has arrived. We said it yesterday, it arrived today. So sometimes you just need to be a little confident.And this story about foreign WorldTour teams is absolutely not true, because if someone has legs they'll let you go without any problems».
The staff takes care of him like a family pet. They give him water. They hand him a cape, then a sling. A hat. They help him put everything on and in the meantime they exchange high fives and smiles. Roglic's retirement It was a hard blow for the team that came to Italy to win the Giro, but perhaps Pellizzari's discovery could make the pill less bitterIf it hadn't been for Primoz, Pellizzari he wouldn't even have come to the Giro. And perhaps it is a sign that on the day of his retirement, the baton was taken up by him. Like when Pantani retired in 1997 due to Chiunzi's fall and the baton passed to Garzelli, who learned to win and finished that Giro in ninth place. Pellizzari's same position, but he can still do much to improve on it.
When it became clear that Primoz was stopping, did the team give you the green light?
Yes, it was all a discovery. We waited to see how Primoz was doing, because it was right that we continued to believe in him. Then when he stopped, they said to me, "Giulio, do your race!" Primoz, on the other hand, didn't say anything, but I think that was normal. It wasn't a good moment; we just knew he was stopping. Unfortunately he fell again at a roundabout, so maybe it was a sign that it was better for him to go home and recover.We all know the rider he is and there was no need to show it here with all this bad luck.
Did you know you were feeling so good?
Yes, I knew that and I just went full blast. I started from the bottom because I had the victory in mind, but I also knew that the breakaway still had a lot of marginIn the end I got to 55 seconds, but it wasn't enough. So I'll try again, let's try to win a stage. I know that breaking away from the start is always a bit risky, but Having the legs I can afford to take risks on the last climb. I came close today, but it doesn't end there.
Carapaz caught you and was going really fast, but you managed to break away from him in the final stages. Does that mean you're in great shape?
A bit of that and a bit of let's say that Maybe we had accumulated a lot of anger in the last few daysI was feeling really good on Sunday, but I stayed close to Primoz and that was right. Today I just wanted to show that I was okayOn the penultimate climb I gained a lot of morale and so in the end I enjoyed myself.
How long has it been since you opened the throttle so hard for a personal result?
Let's say that in the end this is the sixth month of Red Bull, so for six months. But now there will be another 10 years to open the gas.
Is there anything you've managed to steal from Roglic these days, racing alongside him?
I tried to steal from him all the secrets of the pre and post stageIn the race he always runs very well, always in front. Sometimes he's a little unlucky, but his way of running fascinates me. and I try to learn as much as possible.
Can we say that today you proved to be the strongest climber?
Maybe I spared myself at some stage, so Today I got paid for all the over-revving I didn't do.
The special dedication
There are days in the life of a correspondent that remain in the memory and become benchmarks. He didn't win, and we don't know if he will in the next rounds. But he put his beautiful cheekiness on the asphalt and we believe him when he says he had fun.Now he's fully covered, answers two questions in English, and then heads down the hill to reach the bus, with the inevitable whistle around his neck.
Tonight we will be having dinner at home Stefano Casagranda, ex pro', organizer of the Gold Cup and father of the his partner AndreaWe will tell him that we saw him take the shot and we are sure that the joke will arrive affectionate and merciless as always. As we are certain that when Giulio came down he had in his heart the dedication he would have wanted to make. And knowing him We are equally certain that he will not miss the opportunity to try again.Whether he won or not, this is a day many of us will remember for a long time.
