Overview

• Samuele Privitera, 19, died overnight at Aosta’s Parini Hospital after sustaining a severe head injury when he hit a pothole and crashed during the opening stage descent in Pontey.
• Organizers canceled Thursday’s second stage, opted for a neutralized start and suspended all protocol ceremonies before resuming competition Friday in his memory.
• The Italian Cycling Federation formed a commission tasked with recommending safety improvements while public authorities investigate the unclear dynamics of the crash.
• Privitera was in his second year with Axel Merckx’s Hagens Berman Jayco squad and had earned a podium finish in the 2024 Giro Next Gen, marking him as a rising under-23 talent.
• The incident has intensified calls within the cycling community to bolster course hazard management and protective equipment standards on high-speed descents.