Promo - published on 21 July 2023
Source: Prosecco Cycling press office
Prosecco Cycling is growing, and growing more and more. It sets one record after the other – 50,000 participants in 19 years – and now has an edition that promises wonders.
With three months of distance before 1 October, the date on which the highlight of the Prosecco hills will celebrate its 20th anniversary, the countdown is now ready to start. The complex organisational machine of an event that will cover 100 kilometres, passing through 13 of the 15 municipalities of the Denomination, is now in full swing. And the anticipation of enthusiasts is already palpable. The proof of it? In recent days, the number of registrations has exceeded 1,300, with some fifteen nations represented.
Prosecco Cycling confirms its rootedness in the territory, – comments Massimo Stefani, executive manager of the event that, as always, will start and finish in Valdobbiadene. The numbers are up by 20% compared to the same period last year, and there are more and more foreigners. A trend that goes against the trend of many other events in the sector. There is the enthusiasm of passionated people and that of an area that is preparing to host the passage of cyclists through the Unesco hills. Nothing better in order to celebrate in great style an edition of Prosecco Cycling that promises to be memorable.
The success of Prosecco Cycling is also the success of an unparalleled organisational format, in which agonism is never an end in itself and team spirit prevails over individual performance.
A special classification, the Maglia Nera (Black t-shirt), will reward the teams that achieve the worst average distance on three timed climbs: Ca’ del Poggio (1.1 km with an average gradient of 13.4%), Via dei Colli (650 metres – 11.4%) and Collalto (1.5 km – 6.3%). The timing of the three climbs will also determine the individual classification.
Three further team classifications are also planned. One, called Fun Team, will crown the team with the best time over the entire route. With one special feature: the group must consist of at least five cyclists who must cross the finish line within 30 seconds. And, as last year, the team that does not present at least one woman will be penalised by 15 minutes.
Another classification will reward the teams capable of placing the highest number of cyclists (minimum ten) over the finish line within 30″, a way of maximising team spirit. The same mechanism will be applied to the mixed group classification, which differs from the previous one in that it is open to cyclists registered for different teams or not registered at all.
There is also a special prize, the ‘We2gether Team‘ classification. It will go to the team that arrives at the finish line with the best set design as a tribute to the 20th anniversary of Prosecco Cycling, with particular reference to the concept of environmental sustainability, a theme particularly dear to the event in Valdobbiadene, Prosecco and the Unesco hill country.
The timing chip is optional, confirming that at Prosecco Cycling time is of truly relative value. On the faceplate to be affixed to the bike, participants will not find a number but their name. Because at Prosecco Cycling no one is a number.
For the Prosecco Cycling weekend we are already registering a full house in the accommodation facilities of Valdobbiadene and the neighbouring municipalities, – explains the mayor Luciano Fregonese. Many cyclists will stay in the area for several days, attracted by the beauty of the places crossed by the race, but also enthusiastic about tasting the many excellent products of our food and wine that Prosecco Cycling will offer along the route and once they have crossed the finish line, giving participants a truly all-round experience.
Once again this year Prosecco Cycling will be combined with the Grand Tour Gourmet. With their registration, enthusiasts will find in their free packet a discount voucher that they can use from Friday 29 September to Sunday 8 October for lunch or dinner in the best restaurants, trattorias, inns and agritourisms participating in the event and carefully selected for the quality of their products, which are strictly Italian and of the territory. About sixty accommodation facilities have joined the initiative. However, the Grand Tour Gourmet will not just be a €15 discount voucher, but a veritable gastronomic review that will begin on Friday and Saturday at the Tenuta Villa Sandi and will continue on the Sunday of the event along the Prosecco Cycling route.
Translated by Cecilia Flaccavento
Intern at the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno
