Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe put Giro hopes in Hindley and Pellizzari

Jai Hindley returns to the race as a former winner, four years after his overall victory in 2022. The Australian also carries a particular memory of this year’s route. Stage 7 finishes on Blockhaus, the mountain where he won in 2022 on the way to securing the maglia rosa.

Alongside him, Giulio Pellizzari begins his home Grand Tour as one of the most closely watched Italian riders in the race. The 22-year-old has arrived at this point with momentum, not least after his assured overall victory at the Tour of the Alps, where he confirmed both his climbing pedigree and his growing comfort with leadership. 

Long regarded as one of Italy’s brightest stage race prospects, the rider from Camerino now carries a broader significance. No Italian has won the Giro since Vincenzo Nibali in 2016, and Pellizzari’s rise has inevitably stirred hopes that the drought may soon end.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's selection underlines the GC brief. Aleksandr Vlasov gives the team another strong climbing option, while Giovanni Aleotti and Ben Zwiehoff add depth for the mountain stages. 

Mick van Dijke, Gianni Moscon and Nico Denz are there for the less glamorous work: controlling the race, holding position and keeping Hindley and Pellizzari out of trouble in the hectic moments of La Corsa Rosa.

For Dempster, that mix was the point.

“We start this Giro with a clear GC focus and with two riders who bring different strengths to that ambition,” the team’s Chief of Sports said. “Jai knows what it takes to win this race, and Giulio continues to take important steps in his development.”

Hindley and Pellizzari also arrive with an existing rapport, something the team hopes will matter once the race settles into its harsher rhythm.

“They have a good relationship, and around them we have selected a group that gives us experience, climbing strength and control across different types of stages,” Dempster said.

The route, he added, is not only about surviving the summit finishes.

“There are the obvious mountain days, but there are also long stages, nervous finals, rolling terrain and moments where positioning and calm decision making can make a big difference,” he said.

That explains the emphasis on riders who can manage the race before the decisive climbs, rather than simply chase them once they arrive.

“That is why the balance of this line up matters,” Dempster said. “We have riders who can protect Jai and Giulio before the climbs, riders who can guide the race when it becomes stressful, and riders who can still be there deep into the mountains.”

The 109th Giro d’Italia starts on Friday, 8 May in Nessebar, on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, before finishing three weeks later in Rome. 

Later in the season, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will turn to its other GC leaders in the search for Grand Tour success. Florian Lipowitz and Remco Evenepoel are set to take on Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Paul Seixas at the Tour de France, while Primož Roglič will try to win a fifth Vuelta a España title.