At 21 years old, Giulio Pellizzari has won his first professional victory and his first in a Grand Tour. The rider from Marche, racing with Red Bull - Bora hansgrohe, crossed the finish line first on Alto de El Morredero, at the end of a 9.7-kilometer climb with a maximum gradient that nearly reached 16%. Pellizzari had already demonstrated his excellent skills in stage races during the Giro d'Italia, and his first success came in the mountains, on one of the Vuelta's most difficult climbs, leaving important riders like Vingegaard and Almeida behind.

"There were many emotions when I crossed the finish line. I think this is the best moment of my career, even though it's still short up to this point."

At the start this morning, the guy from San Severino Marche had said that this was a stage suitable for his team and that they would certainly try to race aggressively. And so it was, with the twenty-one-year-old breaking away in the finale and conquering the finish of the seventeenth stage of the Vuelta a España with a good advantage.

"During the race, I had a sense of serenity, today I had understood that it could be my day. And I must thank my entire team and my teammates. With Jai, of course, we're fighting for the podium and we haven't managed it yet, but I don't think it's over."

The general classification situation sees Vingegaard leading with a 50" advantage over Almeida, 2'28" over Pidcock, and 3'04" over Jai Hindley, captain of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe in this Vuelta. Meanwhile, Pellizzari maintains fifth place in the general classification, reducing his time from a 4'21" deficit to now 3'51".

The turning point in today's stage came with 3.5 km to go, when the Italian went on the attack. "We tackled the flat section at full gas to try to put Vingegaard in difficulty, and in the last part of the climb, we were two, two Bora riders against six riders from other teams. I thought: if I go, no one will catch me, and yes, that's how it was."

The rider from Marche, fifth in the general classification, is also leading the young rider classification, and his advantage over Riccitello, who is second, has further increased.

"Today they tried multiple times to put me in difficulty, and on the steep sections, I was really going all out. But when the climb became a bit less steep, I tried, and it turned out to be a perfect choice for my weight."

This victory definitely boosts Giulio Pellizzari's morale, and he can approach tomorrow's time trial more serenely.
"Tomorrow there will be a time trial, I can't wait: it will be different from the Turin time trial, so I hope everything goes well, and we'll see what happens and how it will be. And finally, allow me: for today's victory, I want to thank everyone who believed in me."