Pellizzari takes it all: solo victory in Bozen/Bolzano crowns the Italian’s Tour of the Alps

Giulio Pellizzari had said it just a few weeks before the start of the 49th Tour of the Alps in Innsbruck: “It’s the race that made me realise I could be a top-level rider. The Tour of the Alps is the quintessential climbers’ race, and I am coming back to win it.” He’s done it: on Friday, April 24th in Bozen/Bolzano, the 22-year-old from Camerino took his second stage win of this TotA, and defended, all the way to the end, the Melinda Green Jersey he had claimed with his first victory in Martell/Val Martello. This from a rider who, before this week, had just one win as an outright protagonist to his name, and never an overall victory in a stage race at any level: but at the Tour of the Alps, something has changed. Or perhaps everything has – only time will tell.

What’s certain is that Italy is smiling again at the Tour of the Alps 13 years after Vincenzo Nibali (when the race was still called the Giro del Trentino), and for the first time since the race took on its new Euroregional identity. And it did so in the edition that closes the first ten-year cycle of the partnership between Tirol, Südtirol/Alto Adige and Trentino.

In 2013, Nibali, ‘the Shark’, rode on from the Giro del Trentino to the Maglia Rosa; Pellizzari now looks to the Giro’s Grande Partenza in Bulgaria with a few more certainties in his pocket. In five days, the Italian found sharpness and conviction, controlling the race together with his strong Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe squad, and sending clear signals every time the road turned hard.

Whether Bozen/Bolzano really marked a changing of the guard, only time will tell. What’s certain is that the 22-year-old from Camerino showed the hunger for winning that drives true champions, along with the ability to handle the pressure of the favourite’s role, going toe to toe with top-tier rivals like Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner Egan Bernal, and established Tour of the Alps names like Michael Storer and Thymen Arensman.

After his win in Martell/Val Martello, Pellizzari doubled up in the Trento–Bozen/Bolzano stage (128.6 km). At the start, his GC margin was minimal – just 4 seconds on the INEOS Grenadiers duo – but the Italian controlled the race with authority. On the climb to Jenesien/San Genesio he first thinned out the group, then, on the second pass, delivered the decisive blow, flying away toward the win. Arensman and Bernal tried to resist, but his pace proved unsustainable.

At the Bozen/Bolzano finish, Bernal came in second at 30”, taking the sprint ahead of Storer and Arensman. Further back, Jakob Omrzel, Ben O’Connor, Chris Harper and Mathys Rondel, all at 1’20”. Further still, Alexandr Vlasov and Derek Gee, at 2’29”.

In the overall classification, Pellizzari – also winner of the FORST White Jersey for best young rider – finished 40” ahead of Bernal and 50” ahead of Arensman. Just off the podium, Storer at 1’09”, followed by Rondel (1’45”) and Omrzel (1’55”).

The Caffè Bocca della Verità Red Jersey went to Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO), winner of the opening stage in Innsbruck. The Gruppo Cassa Centrale Blue Jersey for the King of the Mountains classification and the e-VISO Giro Black Jersey for the breakaway classification both went to Lennart Jasch (Tudor Pro Cycling), also a protagonist with his stage win in Trento.

PELLIZZARI: “INCREDIBLE TO WIN THE #TOTA; I’LL BE BACK NEXT YEAR TO DEFEND IT”

“I came to the Tour of the Alps to test myself on the climbs: the sensations weren’t ideal at the start, but they improved as the days went by. This race gave us a lot of confidence for what’s to come: we proved we’re a strong squad, ready to go for something big. I felt the responsibility of being the leader, given the huge work of my team-mates: I wanted to win for them too, for everything they did for me.”

“Today I set out with the conviction that I wanted to attack and come in alone. INEOS set a big pace on the first climb up to Nobls/Montoppio; on the second, Aleotti launched me to perfection, then I took a few risks on the descent to extend my margin. In the last 2 km I enjoyed it to the full.”

“Winning the Tour of the Alps 13 years on from Nibali is something incredible for me. He remains a huge reference point, and I hope in time to get closer to what he managed to achieve.”

“I think I still have room to improve my condition ahead of the Giro: in the coming days I’ll stay in Südtirol/Alto Adige, in Schnalstal/Val Senales, for some training days together with Gianni Moscon, before heading to Bulgaria.”

“This Tour of the Alps gave me a lot, both on the road and in the atmosphere around it: I felt the love of the public strongly, especially in Trentino where my girlfriend lives and many people know me. This is a race I always want to ride, and that I will always want to race in the future: next year I hope to be on the start line with number 1 on my back.”

PIDCOCK TRIES FROM AFAR, PELLIZZARI DICTATES IN BOZEN/BOLZANO

From the opening kilometres, stage 5 of the Tour of the Alps was marked by attacks and counter-attacks, with the bunch answering every move on the early ramps toward the intermediate sprint at Palù di Giovo, dedicated to the memory of Sara Piffer, who was also remembered this morning at the Trento start.

After the intermediate sprint, a group of twelve riders gained ground: Trento stage winner Lennart Jasch (Tudor Pro Cycling), Sam Oomen (Lidl–Trek), Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain Victorious), Reuben Mackellar and Jesús Rodríguez Contreras (EF Education–EasyPost), Koen Bouwman (Team Jayco AlUla), Alejandro Rojas Naranjo (Bardiani CSF Faizanè), Márton Dina (MBH Bank), Mattia Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta), Tom Pidcock and Mark Donovan (Q36.5), and Nicolò Garibbo (Team UKYO).

The leading pack pushed their maximum gap to 2’40” around km 50, on the Oberkaltern/Alta di Caldaro climb, where Jasch picked up the decisive points to clinch the Gruppo Cassa Centrale Blue Jersey for the King of the Mountains classification. On the valley floor toward Bozen/Bolzano, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe took control of the race, working to keep Giulio Pellizzari in the best positions ahead of the first pass on the Jenesien/San Genesio climb.

In this phase it was Donovan who took on the main work at the front of the break, but the sustained pace set by Jayco AlUla progressively ate into the leaders’ gap. On the first ascent toward the Nobls/Montoppio KOM, INEOS Grenadiers took up the chase, lifting the pace significantly.

Up front, Tom Pidcock, Márton Dina and Rodríguez Contreras managed to pull clear, with the Briton and the Colombian left alone around two kilometres from the KOM. In the meantime, the combined forcing of INEOS Grenadiers and Jayco AlUla brought the bunch’s gap down by more than two minutes.

On the first ramps of the second pass toward Jenesien/San Genesio, Rodríguez Contreras was left alone at the front, breaking Tom Pidcock’s resistance. The Briton, though far from his best condition, honoured the Tour of the Alps by coming within touching distance of the win in the opening stage in Innsbruck and taking victory in Arco. Behind Rodríguez Contreras, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe imposed an extremely high pace, stringing out the group of favourites. The first to crack was Derek Gee, followed shortly after by Alexandr Vlasov, both unable to hold the pace set by Giovanni Aleotti.

After a short false-flat stretch, Pellizzari broke the deadlock with a decisive attack, initially followed by the INEOS duo of Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal. After around 500 metres of progression, however, the two began to lose ground, while trying to limit the gap.

Bernal kept his own pace, while Arensman paid for his effort and was caught by Michael Storer. The trio then re-joined the Colombian shortly after the Bonus Sprint at Cologna di Sopra, where Pellizzari had picked up 2” on Bernal and 6” on Arensman.

In the final section of the climb toward Nobls/Montoppio, the Italian stretched his lead to 19” over the three chasers, who tried without success to organise the pursuit. Pellizzari then managed the descent to perfection too, driving out of every corner and coming to the finish on his own, to the ovation of the Bozen/Bolzano crowd.

Also applauding Pellizzari were the giants of Südtirol/Alto Adige sport: Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympic luge champions Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner, along with Italian national team head coach Armin Zöggeler, a legend of Italian winter sports.

A fitting finale to a Tour of the Alps where emerging faces alternated with champions who certainly didn’t hold back: from Tommaso Dati’s superb win in Innsbruck to Pellizzari’s first mark in Martell/Val Martello. At the halfway point, Tom Pidcock took centre stage in Arco, before making way in Trento for the remarkable sporting journey of Lennart Jasch – once a skater, now a courageous cyclist. And then the climax in Bozen/Bolzano, with Giulio Pellizzari setting his seal on a day destined to be remembered for a long time.

An intense, hard-fought edition rich in storylines, which confirms the Tour of the Alps’ vocation as a laboratory of talent and a stage for the biggest protagonists. An event that looks ahead without forgetting its own identity, and that is already heading toward a new historic milestone: the fiftieth anniversary, when this tradition of spectacle and passion promises to raise the bar once again.