'I don't know how I did that' - Pellizzari marches into first leader's jersey at Tirreno Adriatico

Pellizzari made the key selection of 14 riders on the final climb to Tortoreto with just over 10km to go, and in the final sprint, bided his time, launching late to sweep past the pack, with the exception of Van der Poel, and finish runner-up on the day, a result he wasn’t expecting at the finish.

“Yeah, I don’t know how I did that, but I came at double speed, and without Van der Poel, I think I won the sprint, but he was there, so second,” Pellizzari told CyclingProNet after the finish. “I just stayed on the back and tried to recover from the climb, and I did my sprint.”

The final sprint earned Pellizzari six bonus seconds, which was enough to take the blue race leader’s jersey off the shoulders of Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who ended 10th on the stage. 

Pellizzari now leads the Mexican champion by a narrow two seconds, and the Italian isn’t banking on those seconds being decisive come the end of the final stage in San Benedetto del Tronto.

“Yeah, I think it’s important, but I don’t know if the GC will finish with close seconds [between the riders],” explained the Italian.

Pellizzari was one of only three riders to finish in the top ten of two Grand Tours in 2025, alongside Jonas Vingegaard and Felix Gall, finishing 6th at both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. 

The Italian also claimed his first Grand Tour stage win at the latter, but despite his impressive credentials at just 22 years old, this is the first race leader’s jersey of the Italian’s professional career.

“Yes, it was a bit unexpected, and I’m super happy and excited, and we’ll try to enjoy it for as many days as possible,” said Pellizzari, who was then asked about how he plans to go about keeping it until the finish.

“Well, I think it will be tough, but the legs are there. Let’s look at it day by day, step-by-step, without asking too many questions about what it will be like, just living it day by day,” said Pellizzari.

In the Red Bull camp alongside Pellizzari is Primož Roglič, a two-time winner of Tirreno-Adriatico in 2019 and 2023, who also sits handily placed in the GC in 3rd, 21 seconds behind his Italian teammate.

The Slovenian’s experience and innate ability to win one-week stage races, as well as the simple fact that Red Bull can play the numbers game, could both be key factors in the final stages to come, with the current differences between Del Toro and Pellizzari looking minimal.

“Yes, absolutely,” said Pellizzari when asked if having Roglič with him in the finale gave him confidence. “We have a fantastic team, and as I said, we have a team of friends."

"The first evening at the table was a bit like a dinner with friends, so come on, I’m happy with that. They are with me, and we’ll fight the next few days all together.”

The last home winner of Tirreno-Adriatico was Vincenzo Nibali back in 2013, making this the longest streak in the race’s history without an Italian winner.

With the talent, form, and current position of Pellizzari, the Italian faithful have a reason to believe that this could be the end of a decade-plus-long wait.