Visma explains Piganzoli’s surprise top-three finish in support of Vingegaard

The 23-year-old Italian has been one of the quiet strengths of Team Visma | Lease a Bike during the opening week. While Vingegaard has taken the headlines, Piganzoli has repeatedly been there deep into the climbs, setting a fierce tempo and helping to reduce the group of favourites.

On the uphill finish of stage nine, he did more than survive. As Vingegaard went on to claim another mountain stage win, Piganzoli pushed on in the final kilometre and passed several riders to take an impressive third place

His celebration at the line showed what it meant, but afterwards he made clear that the sprint was not about personal ambition alone.

“I wanted to stay close to Jonas in case he had a mechanical problem,” Piganzoli explained after the finish to Eurosport. “There was no team car behind us, so I had to be there. But of course, I am really happy with the result.”

Team director Marc Reef confirmed to In de Leiderstrui that the plan was mainly practical. Piganzoli and Vingegaard ride the same bike size, which makes the Italian an important safety net in key moments.

“For Davide it is very important to stay as close as possible to Jonas, and he is doing that very well,” Reef told In de Leiderstrui. “If something happens to Jonas or to his bike, he can immediately swap with Davide. That is one of the reasons.”

Visma | Lease a Bike’s strength was hard to miss. Sepp Kuss also finished strongly in eighth place, giving the Dutch team several riders high up on a demanding mountain stage. Reef was pleased with the depth of the squad, but warned that the hardest part of the race is still to come.

“We are very strong across the team,” he said. “That is good for now, but we still have to prove that we can maintain this level in the second and especially the third week. There will be moments when our rivals attack, possibly from far out. We have to be ready for that.”

Despite Piganzoli’s strong position after nine stages, Visma is not treating him as a general classification card. The priority remains clear: winning the Giro with Vingegaard. Reef expects the upcoming time trial to cost Piganzoli time, and underlined that his role was discussed before the race.

“The goal is to win the Giro with Jonas,” Reef said. “Davide is here to support him. He will not ride for the general classification.”

Vingegaard, meanwhile, was full of praise for his young teammate.

“I’m really impressed by him and by the way he’s performing,” the Dane said.

Sepp Kuss had already praised the young Italian after his performance on Blockhaus.

“If he continues like this and keeps enjoying it, he can become a great rider,” Kuss said to Eurosport. “For such a young guy, he did an amazing job.”