‘The Italian Wout van Aert’ stuns with wild solo ride: “These Giro-style climbs suit me perfectly”

That Marco Frigo made it into the breakaway on stage 3 of the Tour of the Alps came as no surprise. Ever since the Italian stepped up from the development squad to the WorldTour roster of Israel Premier Tech in 2023, he’s been one of the most aggressive riders in the bunch. In his debut Giro last year, he joined the break three times. In the Vuelta a España, he went even bigger, making it into six breakaways and collecting several top results along the way.

On Wednesday, Frigo jumped into a large move early and then made his winning play with a bold solo attack 72 kilometers from the line. “We knew this could be a day for the break, so we had to be sharp from the gun. I got into a big group, but the cooperation wasn’t great. That’s why I decided to go early and force a selection. It was a gamble, but I also wanted to test the legs ahead of the Giro. At first I didn’t believe it would stick, but then the gap started to grow,” he said afterward.

During the post-race press conference, Frigo broke down his wild ride in a way that actually made perfect sense. “It wasn’t the plan to go from that far out, but I’ve lost races by waiting too long in big groups like that. For the way I race, it’s better to set a steady pace and hold it as long as I can. That’s exactly what I did, and this time it paid off.”

Wednesday might have looked like a gutsy solo raid, but for Marco Frigo it doubled as a high-intensity training day. “I just came off a training camp, so I’m using the Tour of the Alps to sharpen up for the Giro. I felt like I was missing that top-end intensity the past few days, so I needed to ride at one steady pace instead of waiting for the final climb where the pure climbers might have dropped me. That’s also why I attacked,” Frigo explained.

He cracks a smile when we bring up the nickname that’s been floating around, the Italian Wout van Aert, based on his racing style and the way he looks on the bike. “That’s just who I am. If I feel like I can win, I’ll fight like hell to be up there.”

“If I’ve ever won in my career, 99 percent of the time it’s been solo. I haven’t won much, but that’s the way that works for me,” he continued. Italian fans have also drawn comparisons between Frigo and the soon-to-retire Alessandro De Marchi of Jayco AlUla. “Alessandro has had an amazing career. I’d sell my soul to have a career like his. We really are similar in style. I got to ride with him for a year and learned so much. I was honestly sad when I heard he’s calling it quits.”

De Marchi claimed stage wins in the 2014 and 2015 Vuelta, doing it the hard way from the break, just like Van Aert has done in so many Grand Tours. And Frigo is dreaming of a role like that this May. “I grew up knowing I’d never be a pure climber, but I always had the mindset to fight on the climbs anyway. That’s why I don’t give up easily, even at 70 kilos and 1.88 meters. If it’s a long climb with steady gradients, I can ride my own pace. The Giro will have plenty of those on brutal days where it all comes down to how much suffering you can handle and the size of your engine. That’s where I feel at home, up the road, going full gas.”

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If anyone knows what Marco Frigo is capable of, it’s Derek Gee. The 27-year-old Canadian has been racing alongside the Italian since 2022, when they were both part of Israel Premier Tech’s continental development team. The two are heading to the Giro together in May, with Gee focused on the GC and Frigo aiming to hunt stages. “Marco is a great guy. He works hard and he’s a good friend. I’m lucky to call him a teammate and I’m really happy to see him take this win” said Gee with a smile after placing third among the GC contenders on stage 3.

To be honest, Gee didn’t think Frigo would make it to the line. “At one point I heard the gap but there was still a long way to go. I thought you never know, but it would be pretty impressive if he pulled it off. And he is an impressive rider.” We mention the Van Aert comparison and Gee laughs. “Yeah, he’s super versatile. It’s hard to define what kind of rider he really is. He’s just a very strong rider.”

Gee is looking forward to joining forces with Frigo in May. “It’ll be great to work with him again on our Giro GC project. We spent a lot of time in the break together last year and it’s always cool to ride with him. We’re actually quite similar.”

Frigo knows he’s not there yet when it comes to overall ambitions. “It’s a process that’s still unfolding. I’m not a leader in the biggest races for now, but the team gives me full support when I target results in smaller races. Taking on GC responsibility might come after the Giro. I’m not at that level yet. My focus is just to be better each day than the day before.”

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])