Enthusiasts from 26 nations and three continents to celebrate the event that once again this year has combined cycling and territory in great style. The mayor of Fregonese: “Record edition”. Giancarlo Moretti Polegato (Villa Sandi): “Every year a new emotion”. Also in the front row at the start were Claudio “El Diablo” Chiappucci and Fausto Pinarello. The organizer: “No one like us”
The world on a bike. Everyone pedaling through the hills embroidered with vineyards, on a Sunday of sun, passion and (sweet) effort. Prosecco Cycling is this: a toast that never ends, the style of an event that defies time. Twenty-one editions, and it’s always like the first time.
This morning, 2,700 people took part in the eagerly awaited parade through the hills of UNESCO. A world on a bike with 26 nations and three continents (Europe, America and Oceania) represented in Piazza Marconi in Valdobbiadene. An all-round event, in which the passion for cycling, free from the constraints of exasperated competitiveness, becomes a driving force for the enhancement of the territory, a showcase for the promotion of typical products, the emotion of panoramas that offer different sensations each time.
Prosecco Cycling is all this, and much more. A relaxed look at the world, from a special observatory like that of the Unesco hills. Without forgetting the commitment – shared with the organizers of the TD Five Boro Bike Tour of New York, the Cape Town Cycle Tour and the RBC GranFondo Whistler of Vancouver, three of the most attended amateur cycling events in the world – for good practices aimed at safeguarding the environment.
For Giancarlo Moretti Polegato, accompanied by his wife Augusta, the enthusiasm is that of the first time, even if the president of Villa Sandi is a regular visitor to Prosecco Cycling: “Every year it’s a new emotion. Pedaling among these hills is an immense joy. Our territory, as well-known as it is, still needs to make itself known to the world and Prosecco Cycling, from this point of view, has many merits”.
At his side, for the first toast of the day, Fausto Pinarello: “P as in Prosecco Cycling and P as in Pinarello – said the president of Cicli Pinarello -. With Prosecco Cycling we have a long common path behind us, ever since our granfondo was born, and this year we have become even closer by becoming partners of an event that represents an important reality in an area that is increasingly central to cycling”.
Claudio “El Diablo” Chiappucci also applauded: “I have lost count of my participations in Prosecco Cycling. Does the party start at the end? Yes, because here the last are as protagonists as the first, but in reality we have been celebrating for days…”.
The mayor of Valdobbiadene, Luciano Fregonese, wearing the tricolour sash, does the honours: “For Prosecco Cycling it is a record edition. The numbers say it, but not only that. Prosecco Cycling has carved out a space for itself among the most significant events at an international level, thanks to the experience of those who organize it, the beauty of the places and the commitment to environmental sustainability”. Franco Adami, president of the Consortium for the Protection of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, also spoke: “Three thousand producers, 190 wineries, eight thousand hectares of vineyards: those who pedal today will put in the same sweat, the same effort, the same passion as working among these hills. We are waiting for everyone”.
At 8:30 sharp, the start. An apotheosis. Confetti. The tricolour drawn in the sky by the Jonathan Collection triplane. Luciano Pavarotti’s “Nessun dorma”, the soundtrack that accompanies the first pedal strokes, already slightly uphill, to leave Piazza Marconi behind. And then, immediately, “Volare”. The ideal soundtrack for an unforgettable Sunday. The group also included participants in the Prosecco Cycling Gravel Contest, the race on dirt roads that this year, for the third time, on a shortened route of 71 km, accompanied the traditional asphalt test.
All together, but without rushing. Because at the Prosecco Cycling, where the participation of pedal-assisted bikes has long been favored and participants do not even have a number attached to their bikes (“Just the name, because no one is a number here,” explain the organizers), slowness is not a weakness, but a virtue. Ask, for confirmation, those who, at the top of the iconic Muro di Ca’ del Poggio, stopped, foot on the ground, to honor the classic refreshment with Prosecco and scampi: 250 kg were served. Almost no one, in the perfect spirit of the Prosecco Cycling, continued on. The same goes for the other gourmet stops: in Refrontolo and Falzé di Piave, where the classic Alta Marca skewer was even served.
In the group, never too fast, double celebration for 12 athletes, nine men and three women: Giovanni Pietribiasi (Panozzo; Junior), Giulio Pelucca (MrBike Team; Senior 1), Matthias Mayr (Senior 2), Daniele Reghellin (Asd San Vito di Leguzzano; Veterans 1), Sergio Gianola (Comola Bikaffe 36; Veterans 2), Davide Ferrari (Asd Argon 18 Hicari Team Max; Gentleman 1), Giuseppe Bovo (S.C. Formigosa; Gentleman 2), Gabriele Guarini (New MT Bike; Super Gentleman 1), Antonio Villa (Asd Bindella; Super Gentleman 2), Giorgia Bandini (Pink Wawe Team; Women 1), Federica Baldassatici (Team Stefan; Women 2), Gloria Gandini (Asd America Sport; Women 3). They are the category winners of the particular challenge based on the travel time of three timed climbs (Zuel di Qua, Ca’ del Poggio and Collalto) that the participants of the Prosecco Cycling encountered along the 100 km of a spectacular route, with 1400 meters of altitude difference, which touched the 15 municipalities of the Docg.
With its fun and never banal competitive spirit, Prosecco Cycling is also the exaltation of perfect team spirit. The Modena team of the Gs Sportissimo, like last year, won the special team classification that rewarded the team capable of placing the most athletes on the finish line in the space of 30”: 56 cyclists arrived in a group. Behind them were CIA Treviso (43) and Team Armistizio (38).
Team Tartaruga, despite its name, won the “Fun Team” classification, reserved for the fastest teams that managed to place at least five cyclists on the finish line within 30”. Having reached the finish line in 2h13’19” (the time of the fifth-placed team), Team Tartaruga conquered the highest step of the podium with Michele Pastro, Stefano Battiston, Fabiana Ugotti, Cristian Parisotto and Mattia Gemin. Silver for the Gruppo Ciclistico Arcade (2h17’16”) and bronze for the Bike Team Fontanelle (2h18’30).
An unforgettable Sunday also for Peter Pellicano, who arrived from Main Beach, Queensland, Australia, awarded as the cyclist coming from the furthest away, and for the Venetians of the MTB Mania Team, authors of a choreography all in the name of the tricolour, who were awarded the We2gether Team recognition.
Finally, two special prizes for the Estonians of the Tartu Team, winner of the Maglia Nera classification, as the slowest team on the three timed climbs, and also the last to arrive at the finish line in Piazza Marconi, where they found a large cake, the embrace of the mayor Fregonese and lots of applause. Because at Prosecco Cycling everyone is truly a winner. And whoever arrives last is even a little more so.
After the race, the appointment was at Villa dei Cedri, where the cyclists, in light of the valorization of local products, were welcomed with a tasting of tiramisu, a moment of absolute sweetness dedicated to the Treviso dessert par excellence, accompanied by the inevitable glass of Prosecco Docg. The last toast of a Sunday to remember, also thanks to the commitment of over 1100 service people who ensured order and safety on the roads.
“The participants have grown by over 20% in two seasons, creating an important spin-off for the area – comments Massimo Stefani, executive manager of Prosecco Cycling -. I think of the 700 foreigners who arrived in Valdobbiadene to participate in the event and the 1,700 guests including cyclists and companions registered by the accommodation facilities. Our hills are now accredited among the main destinations of world cycling tourism. Behind this success there are international contacts and a lot of work. We have had the merit of always believing in it and today, also thanks to the adoption of an absolutely original organizational format, we are reaping the rewards”. Curtain. And see you in 2025 for another infinite toast.
