He is one of the most talked-about cyclists of the moment. Davide Piganzoli is not only the future but also an increasingly vibrant present for Italian cycling. Even yesterday on the Carì climb, the Valtellina native literally launched Jonas Vingegaard, who claimed his fourth stage victory. A true carbon copy of what had happened on Saturday's big mountain stage in Aosta, no longer a surprise but confirmation that the Italian athlete is one of the strongest climbers in the peloton and the trusted man of the pink jersey wearer.

Davide crossed the finish line with his arms raised, formally in sixth place, but ideally a winner alongside his captain. On the roads, there was tremendous support, while in the Hospitality area, sheltered from the scorching sun, his family kept their eyes fixed on the mega screen; his mother Cristina, father Enzo, and brother Gabriele were overwhelmed with emotion. Theirs is a special kind of support, the genuine kind from a family that has never stopped believing in their champion, made of embraces like the one Davide received in the bus area after recovering from the grueling stage. "I consider myself fortunate to have such a family. They have always followed me, they push me to improve and they are there for everything. My brother sends me messages every day to update me on what's happening and in some way gives me the strength not to give up," Davide tells us. His family tries to be present as much as possible; they were in Milan and will be in Rome for the grand finale.

With Davide, however, we must necessarily take a step back because at Carì he was once again the co-protagonist alongside Jonas Vingegaard in a devastating success. Already at the start, he had anticipated that his team would do everything to control the shortest stage of the Giro and they did just that, everything according to plan. "We knew it would be a difficult day, especially if the breakaway got away, but fortunately we managed to control the situation. The plan was for Jonas to attack about 5.5 km from the finish where there was the hardest point, but he decided to move up the timeline. We are a very united team that knows what it needs to do, Campenaert was fantastic, perhaps Kuss was a bit missed, but I stepped in without problems. Jonas told me clearly when he would attack, so I accelerated to prepare the terrain for him and then it was all on his shoulders. He's an incredible rider and his victory is like it's a bit mine too," Davide tells us, once again having been part of a practically perfect machine.

It's not obvious that a 23-year-old in his first World Tour season would have the trust of a captain in this way, but Piganzoli immediately found his place in the Dutch team. He is aware of his abilities and despite his name bouncing around even more loudly among the media and fans these days, he has always followed his own path without letting it go to his head. He works hard and always smiles, but above all he has understood that working for Vingegaard is especially a unique opportunity to learn a lot. "I'm really happy with my condition and the team is believing a lot in me. Jonas is a great captain and often takes me aside to talk about the best way to tackle climbs, he explains his mentality to me, how he wins races and everything that goes with it. It's beautiful because he's the first to give me confidence, he's convinced that I can do great things and often pushes me to race my own race," Davide continues. "In the last two mountain finishes I tried to hold on as long as possible, but the best solution was to maintain my own pace, not exhaust myself for nothing. The team itself has told me several times that I shouldn't overdo it, I should climb at my own pace, reveal myself little by little and the results will come as a consequence."

With 4 stages won at as many mountain finishes, Vingegaard is increasingly dominant and the Giro seems now closed. The battle seems only possible for podium positions and Team Visma could even just limit themselves to controlling. As Davide points out to us, however, there are still 5 stages remaining and, despite the wide margin of advantage, with one bad day everything could change. His task will be to support the captain in every way while he already has a precise dream in his head: "Right now I have only one objective: to arrive in Rome with Jonas in pink. I'm at the Giro exclusively for him and every victory of his is like it's mine too."