Gazzetta: "Italian climbing prospect from Contador's team set to join Visma | Lease a Bike"

The talent factory run by Contador and Basso has produced several strong riders in recent years, and Piganzoli is without a doubt the latest standout. In 2021 and 2022, he rode for Polti’s development squad, although he occasionally got a taste of pro-continental racing with the main team. In 2023, he made the full step up to the WorldTour setup, with his third-place finish at the prestigious Tour de l’Avenir catching plenty of attention.

At Polti, young talents are given every opportunity to grow, and Piganzoli made the most of it by riding his first Grand Tour in just his second year as a pro. After winning the Tour of Antalya and finishing inside the top ten at the Tour of the Alps, he impressed by taking 13th in the Giro d'Italia. Later in 2024, he continued to make his mark with 11th place at the Vuelta a Burgos, ninth at the Tour de Luxembourg, and a podium finish with third place at the Giro dell'Emilia.

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In 2025, Piganzoli continues to take big steps forward. He finished second at O Gran Camiño, placed inside the top 20 in highly competitive races like the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Tirreno-Adriatico, and just missed out on the top ten with 11th place in a brutal edition of the Tour of the Alps. His next big goal is the Giro d'Italia, where he plans to target the general classification, as he revealed during the Tour of the Alps in an interview with IDLProCycling.com that will be published later this week.

La Gazzetta dello Sport calls Piganzoli "one of the most exciting Italian prospects," and a move to the WorldTour in 2026 now seems inevitable. “Visma | Lease a Bike is in pole position,” the paper reports. “No contract has been signed yet, but at this stage, one of the strongest teams in the world looks like the most likely destination for his future.”