Pellizzari explains Del Toro alliance after Deutschland Tour win: 'He wanted GC, I wanted the stage'

Pellizzari capped another successful day for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in Bad Dürkheim, following teammate Alessio Magagnotti's victory one day earlier. After Del Toro attacked from distance, Pellizzari bridged across and the pair quickly found common ground.

“Today was a great day. We were already very happy after Magagnotti's victory and today we wanted to do it again,” Pellizzari said in the flash interview after the finish.

“It wasn't an easy day, but we were in the perfect position. When Isaac attacked, I managed my effort, then I got back to him and we worked well together. He wanted the general classification, I wanted the stage.”

That arrangement ultimately worked out for both riders. Pellizzari proved the quicker of the pair in Bad Dürkheim, while Del Toro took over the leader's jersey with a 52 second advantage ahead of the final stage.

There was another layer to the partnership. Pellizzari and Del Toro are close friends away from racing and both live in San Marino, making their battle for stage honours an unusual one.

“Isaac and I are very good friends. We often battle each other in races,” Pellizzari said. “I'm happy for him that he's the leader. I think it was a perfect day for him, for me and for all of San Marino.”

Del Toro was equally satisfied with the outcome after UAE Team Emirates-XRG committed to an aggressive plan on the hardest stage of the race.

“We tried today. We knew it would be a special day,” the Mexican said. “With the whole team, we managed to make a really good lead out and have it more or less under control. I can be super happy with the performance. Thanks to the team, we came back into the lead.”

The decision to attack with more than 30 kilometres still remaining was deliberate. Del Toro felt the nature of the course made waiting increasingly risky, particularly as the favourites began watching one another.

“Everybody started to be maybe a little bit too smart,” he explained. “We knew we needed to do something. We tried on the third last climb and it was okay.”

Del Toro also joked that there was a personal score to settle with Pellizzari. The Italian had recently taken one of his Strava KOMs, giving Del Toro another reason to want the upper hand. “I tried to take revenge,” he laughed, “but today it was not possible.”

His attention now turns to protecting the leader's jersey on the final stage.

“I hope to finish it off,” Del Toro said. “It will be a tricky day tomorrow, but we have the ambition to finish the job.”

For Pellizzari, meanwhile, the victory continued a season in which converting opportunities into wins has been a deliberate target.

“The goal this year was to win as many stages as possible and we're managing to do that,” he said. “I have to thank my teammates and everyone who has worked for me throughout the year.”