Giulio Pellizzari made his move 2.6 kilometres from the summit of Montoppio on Friday — a solo attack that sealed overall victory at the Tour of the Alps 2026 and announced him as one of the most compelling climbers in the peloton. The Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe rider crossed the line in Bolzano 30 seconds clear of Egan Bernal, turning a knife-edge four-second overnight lead into a commanding win on the final stage of the five-day ProSeries event.
It is the biggest result of Pellizzari’s career. He is also the first Italian to win the overall Tour of the Alps since Vincenzo Nibali took the race in 2013 — when it was still called the Giro del Trentino.
How the Race Was Won
Stage 5 from Trento to Bolzano covered 128.6 kilometres and 2,850 metres of climbing. It was always going to be decided on the twin ascents of the category-one Montoppio. Tom Pidcock animated the race early on the cat-one Cologna di Sopra, joined by Juan Felipe Rodríguez, Lennart Jasch, Sam Oomen, and Koen Bouwman — a group that built an advantage of over two minutes before the favourites reasserted control at the foot of the final climb.
INEOS Grenadiers set tempo on the first passage of Montoppio. Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe seized the initiative on the second — drilling the pace hard enough to shed their own teammate Aleksandr Vlasov, fourth on GC, before Pellizzari went clear. Rodríguez was caught. The last threat neutralised. With 2.6 kilometres of climbing remaining, the Italian launched and never looked back.
Bernal was the most tenacious in response, briefly holding contact before the chase splintered. Thymen Arensman — third overnight — came under pressure before the summit, which fragmented any organised pursuit. No cohesive group formed. Pellizzari crested with roughly 20 seconds in hand and managed the technical descent into Bolzano with composure, holding the gap to the line.
Bernal and Arensman finished 30 seconds down in a trio that also included Michael Storer of Tudor Pro Cycling, the defending champion. Final GC: Pellizzari first, Bernal at 40 seconds, Arensman at 50 seconds, Storer at 1:09.
Pellizzari Speaks
“This is truly incredible. I knew I had to give it everything on the final climb. Not for myself, but for my team. They have done outstanding work over the last three days. I had no choice but to win for them today.”
Characteristically self-effacing, Pellizzari insisted the result belonged to the collective.
“I don’t want to say I won the Tour of the Alps, but that Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe won the Tour of the Alps.”
He had taken the race lead on Stage 2 with a narrow sprint over Arensman at Val Martello — a finish he had previously podiumed twice in prior years — and defended it through three further stages, including a nervy Stage 4 where the GC group arrived in Trento with time gaps still compressed to seconds.
Giro Ambitions Confirmed
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe DS Christian Pomer made no attempt to manage expectations after the stage. With former Giro winner Jai Hindley pencilled in as a key lieutenant for the mountains, the team’s intentions for the Corsa Rosa are clear enough.
“I think we can be confident to have also a chance to fight for the podium at the Giro,” Pomer said.
Pellizzari was measured but pointed when asked about his Giro readiness.
“I have something to improve, but for me, for the team and for the people watching, I hope it will be open until the end.”
The result follows top-six finishes at both the Giro and Vuelta in 2025 — the latter including a stage win — and confirms a trajectory that Italian cycling has been waiting on since Nibali stepped away in 2022.
What’s Next
Attention turns swiftly to the Giro d’Italia, which gets underway in early May. Pellizzari enters as a legitimate podium candidate, with race favourite Jonas Vingegaard and a deep GC field expected to provide the sternest test yet of whether he can sustain his form across three weeks. On this evidence, that question is genuinely open — and that alone is worth watching.
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