Tomorrow Chicco Pellegrino's alarm will go off at dawn. Yes, because the glory of Aosta Valley sports, an excellent cross-country skier with four Olympic medals and two World Cups to his name, is also a great cycling enthusiast, not just from his living room sofa, which explains the early start: "from Aosta, before reaching the starting area, I will tackle the first part of this very demanding stage from the capital to Pila. For someone like me, born at the Sci Club Saint-Barthélemy, the climb that immediately awaits the riders cannot and will not be like any other. Keep in mind that on the very slopes where I started skiing, I ended my career last March".

The connection between two wheels and skis is well-established, also sanctioned by stories like that of Norwegian Nordhagen, who was a junior world champion in cross-country before dedicating himself with excellent results to cycling (the same trajectory followed by Vacek). Pellegrino, for that matter, cannot stay still and recently even tried his hand at a vertical race, "taking one of those healthy 'slaps' that invite you to give your all in training".

For what? For the upcoming appointments, which as far as cycling is concerned offer "Chicco" a clear horizon: "in the next month and a half I want to intensify my training for the latest participation in the Maratona delle Dolomites–Enel with the Team Enervit jersey, also adding the 24 Hours of Feltre, a charity event, with Paolo Kessisoglu's team".

At Corvara, Pellegrino, advised by his coach to opt for the medium distance, has already covered 106 km of the route in 4h32'04". The Giro arrives and the Fiamme Oro athlete willingly offers a consideration on the key stage with finish at Pila (which he knows especially from competing there in skiroll): "as often happens in the big Aosta Valley stages, it won't be this or that climb that makes the difference, but the combination of all the mountain passes in succession, since we're talking about such significant elevation gain. I will start climbing Saint-Barthélemy, continuing to Doues, then we'll see if there's time for Issogne".

Favorite riders? "I greatly admire Filippo Ganna, even though I don't know him directly, and in general I must say we're living a golden age at the world level, we talk about it often with cycling enthusiast friends like Matteo Mocellini, who introduced me to riders sensitive to endurance like Frigo and Pasqualon".

In the Valley, hopes of seeing a local rider at the Giro rest on the Agostinacchio brothers: "I'm racing at the Due Giorni Marchigiana - says Filippo - while Mattia is in Aosta. The Pila stage will be decisive for the general classification, with Saint-Barthélemy tough but rideable, destined to make the selection for the first breakaway".

Amateur Matteo Arlian (Overall team) is the son of Pellegrino's first coach and is in his first season in under-23 cycling, after years as a cross-country skier. There's no better person to discover Saint-Barthélemy: "it will cause immediate damage, I don't expect anyone to go solo, but that climb can reveal hierarchies. It's long, it flattens out a bit in the middle. But there are no shortage of tough sections".