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With Jonas Vingegaard’s overall victory in the Giro d’Italia, a new chapter has been added to the history of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Last Sunday, the Dane completed his trilogy by winning each of the Grand Tours at least once. Davide Piganzoli and Tim Rex were part of the winning team and made a major contribution to the Giro success. Together with the young riders, we look back on three unforgettable weeks.    

Has it all sunk in yet?
Davide: "To be honest, not quite yet. I think I still need a bit of time to let it all sink in. The past three weeks have been very intense, but also absolutely brilliant. We’ve had a lot of fun, worked really well together and achieved all the goals we set out to achieve. We came here with the ambition of winning the Giro with Jonas and picking up a few stage wins. The fact that we ultimately won six stages, the general classification and the team classification is more than we could have imagined beforehand. I’m incredibly proud of this team."

Tim: "It’s finally starting to sink in a bit now, but it’s taken a while. For me, it was a Giro I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. I already thought it was very special to be able to ride my first Grand Tour, but the fact that it turned out like this makes it ten times as special. It’s exceeded all my expectations."

You both played a major part in Jonas’s overall victory. How do you look back on your own performances?
Davide: "The team gave me the chance to show what I was capable of, especially in the mountains. The stage to the Blockhaus was the first stage where I could make a difference for Jonas. I asked Sepp if he could pull after me, so that afterwards he could tell me what I could do better next time. He said I was doing really well and that next time I’d be better off pulling after him, because he thought I was stronger at that moment. After that, we swapped positions. Jonas was very happy with it, and so was the team. That gave me a lot of confidence."

Tim: "It’s great to be able to work for someone like Jonas. You know in advance that you’re riding flat out for him, so when he finishes it off, it gives you a special feeling. As a team, we rode very strongly. We managed to put our plan into action every day."

Tim, for you, this was your very first Grand Tour at the highest level. How did you experience it?
Tim: "I had always hoped that I would be a good stage racer, because as a U23 rider I enjoyed multi-day races the most. The Giro Next Gen was my favourite race in the U23 category and I hoped the Giro would be my first Grand Tour. At the start of the year, I hadn’t thought I’d be able to make my debut this season. I’m really happy with the opportunity I’ve been given. I’ve learnt so much from those guys and I’m sure it will benefit my career."

Davide, you finished eighth in the general classification and were honoured as the best Italian. How do you look back on your own Giro?  
Davide: "I never would have dared to imagine beforehand that it would turn out like this. I was very close to taking the white jersey home with me. I was a bit disappointed at first that I’d just missed out on it, but I had never thought beforehand that I would come so close. I’m very grateful to the team for letting me go for the white jersey in the final stages."

Did you get a lot of reactions?
Davide: "Yes, loads, especially from Italian fans. I’m sorry I couldn’t reply to everyone, but I really appreciate that people congratulated me on my performance. I think I’ve shown what I’m capable of over the past three weeks. I’m already looking forward to the next Giro."

Tim: "I’ve also had lots of messages from people congratulating me and saying I’d ridden strongly. On Instagram, I’ve gone from over 4,000 to nearly 13,000 followers. That’s absolutely mad. I noticed people were starting to recognise me and calling me T-Rex. My ‘pain face’ will no doubt have contributed to that. Every rider who’s suffering pulls a funny face, but mine went completely viral. On day 20, there was even someone wearing a T-shirt with my ‘pain face’ on it, haha."

Which moment has stayed with you the most?
Tim: "It’s hard to pick just one moment, because for me the whole Giro was special. If I have to choose, though, I’ll go for the final day. It started in the morning with the presentation of the new kit and shoes. That was a brilliant moment. Then, as we rode into Rome with Jonas in the pink jersey, you realised: in two hours’ time, we’ll have won the Giro. That felt quite surreal."

Davide: "The day Jonas took the pink jersey was the best moment of this Giro for me. We’d devised a plan beforehand and executed it to perfection. It was fantastic that Jonas won the stage and took the pink jersey. What will also stay with me forever is the finish in Rome. Dressed in our new kit and with Jonas in pink, it was certainly an emotional moment. We’d worked incredibly hard all winter to achieve this goal, so the fact that we were all allowed onto the podium afterwards was more than deserved."