Italy had not seen one of their own wear the pink jersey in the Giro d’Italia in four years until Saturday when XDS Astana’s Diego Ulissi took the Maglia Rosa and he will proudly wear it when he rides through his home region of Tuscany on Sunday.
Ulissi came third in stage eight but his performance was enough to take the pink jersey from Slovenian Primoz Roglic as the Italian built up a slender 12-second lead over his teammate Lorenzo Fortunato, with Roglic a further five seconds back.
Ulissi screamed in delight when he was told the pink jersey was his as he became the first Italian since Alessandro De Marchi in 2021 to wear the jersey, ending a long wait for home fans that lasted 86 stages.
“I don’t easily let myself be taken by emotions but when I was presented with the Maglia Rosa and saw XDS Astana stamped on it, I became emotional, I have to admit,” Ulissi told reporters.
“I’m 35, soon 36 (in July). I’ve had nice satisfactions in my cycling career with eight stage wins at the Giro, I’ve built a nice family with three daughters.
“So when I first saw this jersey, I thought of all my family members, especially those who took me to races when I was a kid.”
The stage victory, however, went to Australian Luke Plapp, who rode solo with 45 km for his first Grand Tour stage win.
Ulissi finished 38 seconds behind, losing a battle with Wilco Kelderman of Visma-Lease a Bike for second.
“Luke Plapp was superior. I’m happy with how I went on such a lumpy terrain. When I heard that I had to ride flat out till the finish, I understood that I had a chance to take the Maglia Rosa,” Ulissi added.
“The choice of not communicating to me the exact gaps was the best thing to do in order to not disturb me. I have a long experience in cycling but I never had the Maglia Rosa before.”
Stage nine is a 181 km ride from Gubbio to Siena in the Tuscany region in central Italy.
“Tomorrow, I’ll try to give everything to defend it but it’s a complicated stage that requires some luck as well,” Ulissi said.
“It’ll be special to arrive in Tuscany with the Maglia Rosa.”
