Giulio Pellizzari breaks down: "Pushed myself for too long"

Giulio Pellizzari dropped down the general classification today in the Giro d'Italia. The Italian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe fell from sixth to nineteenth place after losing more than eighteen minutes on the final climb to Carì. “It was tough from the start, I simply didn't have the legs,” he said after the stage, visibly affected, in an interview with Eurosport.

“I was at my limit from the very first kilometer," Pellizzari explained. "I didn't push harder because the finish was still far away. Hopefully I can recover over the next two days, and then we'll see how the final two mountain stages go.”

The 22-year-old rider had already struggled several times during this Giro. This was a result of illness that flared up at the end of the first week. Last Saturday it seemed he had found his legs again, but now he will have to abandon his GC ambitions for good. Did the crash in Switzerland come because of the virus that affected him earlier? "I don't know. But I do think I pushed too hard for too long.”

With Pellizzari now out of the overall standings, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe is fully focused on Jai Hindley. The Australian currently sits fourth in the GC, 33 seconds behind third-placed Thymen Arensman. “We will do everything we can to get Jai on the podium in Rome," Pellizzari said.