Enthusiasm skyrockets for the seventh passage of the Giro d’Italia on the iconic climb of Ca’ del Poggio: the cheers reward “Joker” Vendrame fresh from the feat of Sappada, but the most applauded is Governor Zaia, who also awarded the Stocco family for 30 years of activity
There is a thin pink streak creeping through the vineyards, throbbing with the passion of thousands of fans and coloring the hills with an enduring excitement. One last bend, then the road soars and becomes a vertical spectacle: it’s the Ca’ del Poggio Wall, the springboard for the penultimate stage of the 107th Giro d’Italia, the seventh passage – from 2009 to the present – along the iconic climb of the Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.
Stage number 20, the 184 kilometers from Alpago to Bassano del Grappa, arrives on the Ca’ del Poggio Wall at lunchtime, when it is pouring rain. The umbrellas are open, but for the people on the Wall, the sun always seems to be shining. The peloton, at the entrance to the climb, to the accompaniment of Luciano Pavarotti’s “Nessun dorma,” is already fractionated: leading Davide Ballerini and Lorenzo Germani, among the chasers is Andrea Vendrame, while pink jersey Tadej Pogacar controls the peloton. The riders push on the pedals, raise their eyes toward the strip of asphalt that suddenly takes the path of the sky and seems to almost overpower them: the magic of the Wall of Ca’ del Poggio envelops them, flows under the bikes, before taking them to the Grappa and then projecting them toward the penultimate finish line – tomorrow there is Rome – of an edition that will go down in history for the domination of the new king, Pogacar.
The Wall (1.1 km with an average gradient of 12.3 percent and peaks of 19 percent), between curves and counter-curves, climbs up to an altitude of 242: we are in the hills, but the setting that welcomes the runners seems that of a Dolomite mountain stage. The first supporters arrive at dawn: they set up the gazebos, prepare the tables, light the fire. The scent of skewers wafts through the air already in the early morning. The atmosphere is that of a great folk festival. There is not a tree or vineyard that has not hung a banner, a photo, an incitement. The street is a palette of colors, drawings, slogans.
The cheering thermometer gradually rises, while the rain does not cease, and reaches high points for Treviso’s Andrea “Joker” Vendrame, who, fresh from his Sappada feat, unleashes the fan club perched on the lawn with banners and flags. Shouts and cheers, photos and trumpets, bikes and little houses colored pink. Even Poggy, the lion in pink, Ca’ del Poggio’s mascot, makes his first appearance at the Giro.
For the Wall of Ca’ del Poggio, this is the third passage of the Giro d’Italia since – in 2019 – the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene received Unesco recognition. The event thus becomes the perfect synthesis of a territory that, on the pinkest day of the year, expresses pride in being there, in showing its excellence.
Organized by Alberto and Marco Stocco, the souls of Ca’ del Poggio, the Grande Festa Rosa is also a catwalk for excellent guests: Luca Zaia spent most of the day at the top of the wall. He lent himself to a thousand photos and just as many handshakes. He honored the Stocco family, with dad Fortunato, mom Maria Stella and sons Alberto and Marco collecting well-deserved applause for 30 years in business. “Now,” smiled Zaia, “everyone is good at praising the panorama of Ca’ del Poggio, the goodness of the cuisine, but there was nothing here 30 years ago. The Stocco family believed in it. That’s why I say pessimists don’t make good luck.”
Recognitions were also given for the 141 years of Latteria di Soligo, represented by Lorenzo Brugnera, and for Acqua San Benedetto, with a speech by Enrico Zoppas. As well as for Eleonora Bottecchia, an artist from Treviso who dedicated the original interpretation of two magnums of Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG from Ca’ del Poggio to the centenary of Alfonsina Strada’s epic exploits at the Giro d’Italia and Ottavio Bottecchia’s exploits at the Tour de France.
Actor Paolo Kessisoglu, musician Saturnino and glass master Marco Varisco enlivened the friendly stage of the Tiramisu World Cup, with support from the “champions” of the year’s tastiest challenge, Stefano Serafini (2021), Giuseppe Salvador (2022) and Mario De Santis (2023). A salomonic ex aequo, with applause even from Zaia, awarded the three pairs indiscriminately.
To the “C’è Da Fare” association, founded by Kessisoglu with the aim of creating psychological support projects for teenagers in difficulty, also a special check for 10,000 euros that was the result of a fundraiser that involved many local companies and Ca’ del Poggio itself. Kessisoglu, Varisco and many friends biked from Alpago following the pink caravan, pedaling to Ca’ del Poggio.
In short, a wall of emotions and enthusiasm on a day that, like the previous ones, will remain unforgettable. Now all to Rome. And while the Eternal City prepares to pay tribute to the sovereign Pogacar, there is one certainty: the Giro, in Veneto, also thanks to the Wall of Ca’ del Poggio, is more pink than ever.
