20-year-old Giulio Pellizzari celebrates Cima Coppi, gifts from Pogačar, and a second place on his Giro d'Italia debut

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After just over two weeks of his debut Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia, 20-year-old Giulio Pellizzari is making the headlines as the race hits the Alps.

The Italian, racing for ProTeam VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè, has, in the past two days, done battle with GC leaders for a stage win on Monte Pana, been gifted some maglia rosa memorabilia from race leader Tadej Pogačar, and won the Cima Coppi prize.

Pellizzari turned pro with Bardiani straight from the junior ranks two years ago and is now making his Giro debut as the youngest man in the race – 21 years younger than his teammate Domenico Pozzovivo.

He placed second on stage 16, leading the late breakaway until the final kilometre of the abridged stage before the dominant Pogačar swept past to grab his fifth stage win. After the finish, he met the Slovenian to ask for his sunglasses, and later told the story of the meeting to TuttoBiciWeb.

"When I saw Pogačar coming, I thought, 'Bastard, again?' But that's OK," Pellizzari recalled. "My brother messaged me 'Find a way to get Pogačar's sunglasses' so I came into the tent and asked for them. He also gave me his maglia rosa. I wished him all the best – he's great, the best in history.

"My Giro? It's only just beginning."

Pellizzari was certainly right about that. A day later, he's back in the breakaway along with star names such as stage 12 winner Julian Alaphilippe, former race winner Nairo Quintana, and 2021 runner-up Damiano Caruso.

He beat the Colombian up the first climb of stage 17, the 2,244-metre Passo Sella, edging across the line in a photo-finish sprint. As a result, he won the 2024 Cima Coppi prize, which had initially been placed at the Passo dello Stelvio (2,758m) and the Umbrailpass (2,498m) before the two mountains were taken off the race route.

Between that and his leading the breakaway over the first-category Passo Rolle, Pellizzari has now jumped into second place in the mountain competition behind classification leader Pogačar. He has 146 points and counting to the Slovenian's 206 with a maximum of 67 left to battle over on the final three climbs of the day.

But Pellizzari's achievements may never have come to pass if he had his way last week when he was planning to head home but for the advice of his coach, Leonardo Piepoli, and Massimiliano Gentili, directeur sportif at his junior cycling club UC Foligno.

"It's a great satisfaction because only five days ago I was more at home than in the race," Pellizzari said of his race on stage 16. "I had a cough, a cold and a sore throat and I was more there than here.

"But thanks to my family, Massimiliano Gentili, and Leonardo Piepoli, I was able to stay in the race and I had a beautiful day. On stage 11 I called Gentili and told him 'I'm going home' but he taught me not to give up, so this result is for him."