Pogacar joins memorial ride in Italy to honour late young rider

On November 30, Asbjørn Hellemose, a friend of Samuele Privitera, posted a statement to social media to share news of his contract extension with Jayco AlUla for 2026, the senior team linked to the under-23 team, which Privitera rode for, Hagens Berman Jayco.

Privitera tragically died in the hospital on July 16, a day after crashing during the opening stage of the Giro della Valle d’Aosta, an Italian under-23 stage race.

In his statement, Hellemose paid tribute to Privitera and announced that he was organising a memorial ride to take place in Liguria, Italy, on January 3.

“I am writing this post because I am organising a ride, together with other friends of mine and his, in memory of Privi,” the 26-year-old Dane wrote on Instagram in November. 

“It will take place on the 3rd of January in his Liguria, where we shared many hours together on and off the bike. I hope as many as possible would like to join us in remembering him. I miss you, little brother.”

The memorial ride took place on Saturday, with Hellemose posting to Instagram with pictures of those who attended and the caption, “Ride for Privi. Thank you all for participating and for remembering Privi with us.”

The world champion, Tadej Pogačar, was among those in attendance paying their respects to Privitera, as captured on Hellemose’s Instagram story, riding and talking alongside the Dane.

When he won stage 12 of the Tour de France in the Summer, the day after Privitera’s death, Pogačar dedicated his victory to the Italian by pointing to the sky as he crossed the finish line.

In his post-race interview, the world champion stated, “I would like to dedicate the victory to Samuele and his family. It was the first thing I read in the morning, very sad. I thought of him in the last kilometre and how this sport can be, how much pain it can cause.”