‘Vingegaard takes me aside to explain things’ - Piganzoli reveals Visma’s plan for his future

The 23 year old joined Visma from Polti during the winter and has quickly become one of Vingegaard’s key climbing domestiques in Italy. Piganzoli has been visible throughout the opening two weeks of the race, most notably on the Blockhaus and at Corno alle Scale, where he finished third behind Vingegaard and Felix Gall.

For now, his job is clear. Vingegaard is the leader and Piganzoli is in the Giro to support him. But Visma also see the Italian as a possible GC leader in the future, and Piganzoli says working so closely with one of the best stage racers in the world has already accelerated his development.

“I am here as a helper for Jonas, but of course I also want to learn as much as possible from him,” Piganzoli said to In de Leiderstrui. “He is our big GC rider, so I try to take a lot from that. In the future, the team would like me to become a GC leader for them, so this Giro is a very good experience.”

Piganzoli was already a protected rider at Polti, where he finished 13th overall at last year’s Giro. His move to Visma, however, has placed him inside a far bigger performance structure and alongside a rider who has won the Tour de France twice.

The Italian says the learning process began before the Giro, during Visma’s altitude camp on Mount Teide.

“I can learn almost everything from him,” Piganzoli said of Vingegaard. “It started already at altitude on Teide, where I really saw how he prepares for a Grand Tour like the Giro. Jonas is rarely stressed and he is very relaxed, even when there are hard days.”

That influence has continued into the race. Piganzoli says Vingegaard has not only led by example, but has also taken time to explain details about life as a Grand Tour contender.

“He sometimes takes me aside to explain something new,” Piganzoli said. “How to train, how to eat, how to recover better. For me, that is very nice. He is very important for me.”

Visma sports director Marc Reef told L'Equipe the team did not sign Piganzoli simply because he is Italian and the Giro is being raced on home roads. According to Reef, the goal was to build the strongest possible team around Vingegaard.

“What we were looking for was really the best possible team to support Jonas,” Reef said. “Davide has made another step this season compared to last year. In the last two years he fought for 14th and 13th overall, even though he was not always with the favourites. Those were already big performances. We believe a lot in his potential.”

Piganzoli admits the difference between Polti and Visma has been significant. At his previous team, he was part of a much smaller operation. At Visma, he has entered one of the most advanced teams in the sport.

“I came from a very small team,” he said. “I think there were 40 or 50 people in total. Here there are around 250. It is impressive. There are people for every problem and every discussion is explored in detail.”

The Italian says he had several options when deciding his future last year, but felt Visma was the best place to progress.

“Many teams wanted me last season,” Piganzoli said. “I had a difficult winter trying to make the right choice. But Visma was the best place to take the next step in my career.”

So far, Piganzoli believes he has made the right choice to keep growing.

“The equipment, the Foodcoach, everything,” he said. “I am in the right place in the peloton.”