Kuss praises Piganzoli after Visma talent delivers Blockhaus masterclass

“Davide is a great climber and a great guy,” Kuss told Eurosport after the stage. “I shared a room with him for three weeks at training camp. We laughed a lot together. It is great to have him in the team.”

Kuss believes Piganzoli’s performance was another sign of what could still come. “If he continues like this and keeps enjoying it, he can become a great rider. For such a young guy, he did an amazing job.”

Piganzoli’s turn on the Blockhaus was not the move that won the stage, but it helped create the conditions for it. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had controlled much of the climb, yet Visma changed the rhythm when the road began to bite. Piganzoli lifted the pace, reduced the group and gave Kuss the platform to apply the final pressure before Vingegaard launched clear.

The Dane eventually took the stage and gained thirteen seconds on Felix Gall, while Giulio Pellizzari lost more than a minute. Vingegaard’s victory was the headline result, but Piganzoli’s performance was one of the most important details behind it. Even after emptying himself for his leader, the Italian still finished an impressive 16th on the stage, within three minutes of Vingegaard.

For the 23-year-old Italian, this Giro is quickly becoming proof that his move to Visma was the right one. Piganzoli joined from Team Polti VisitMalta after five seasons in the structure around Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador.

Speaking in April to bici.pro, Piganzoli explained why the Dutch team convinced him. “They spoke to me about growth and showed me what they had done with other riders. We talked about the equipment, the planning of every step. Those were the things that really impressed me.”

The project was clear from the beginning. Piganzoli would first help, learn and adapt to one of the strongest WorldTour teams in the peloton. At the same time, Visma would try to develop him as a stage race rider. On Blockhaus, those two paths already seemed to meet.

Before the stage, Piganzoli had already made it clear to In de Leiderstrui that he was arriving at the Giro with a different engine than last year. “I am really much better than last year,” he said. “My numbers have gone up by five to seven percent. On the second day I was already able to launch Jonas well, and that is how I hope to keep helping.”

And he did. On Blockhaus, Piganzoli translated those words into one of his strongest rides yet for Visma. Kuss, who knows better than most what it takes to support a Grand Tour leader in the mountains, immediately recognised the value of that work.