At the world cycling summit, the executive manager of the Valdobbiadene event, Massimo Stefani, illustrated the contents of the World Cycling Sustainable Events project to the organizers of the most attended cycling event in the Land of the Rising Sun. The goal? To extend the memorandum of understanding on environmental sustainability to the Asian continent, after already involving Europe, America, and Africa.
From the UNESCO hills to the Land of the Rising Sun, passing through the prestigious Velo-city in Rimini, where over 1,500 delegates from 60 nations discussed sustainable mobility, health, and quality of life in the cities of the future.
The world cycling summit returned to Italy after 35 years (the last edition in our country took place in 1991), and Prosecco Cycling seized the opportunity to present the World Cycling Sustainable Events project to the delegation of Cycling Shimanami, Japan’s most attended cycling event. Every year at the end of October, over 7,000 enthusiasts participate across the eight routes (ranging in length from 30 to 140 km) that characterize the event.
Cycling Shimanami will also be tasked with organizing the edition of Velo-city that will land in the Ehime Prefecture in 2027, on one of the four main islands making up the Japanese archipelago. The memorandum of understanding between Cycling Shimanami and Prosecco Cycling will be signed precisely on the occasion of the Japanese edition of Velo-city. To best prepare for the event, a delegation from the Land of the Rising Sun will travel to the UNESCO hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene for the 23rd edition of Prosecco Cycling, scheduled for this coming September 27.
Three of the most important amateur cycling events in the world have already joined the World Cycling Sustainable Events project launched by Prosecco Cycling: the TD Five Boro Bike Tour in New York, the RBC GranFondo Whistler in Vancouver, and the Cape Town Cycle Tour. Following the international meeting held last September in the setting of Villa Sandi in Crocetta del Montello, the WCSE project now aims to expand by involving some of the largest mass cycling event organizers on the Asian continent.
The goal? To become promoters of sustainable mobility on a global level, passing the message on to the more than 75,000 cyclists who participate every year in the events included in the World Cycling Sustainable Events project – Stefani explains. – To provide professionalism and experience in order to position ourselves as a working group for institutions, cities, and destinations around the world that are interested in developing the concept of sustainable mobility through new and spectacular mass bicycle events. I am delighted to have found attentive, interested, and engaged interlocutors in the organizers of Cycling Shimanami.
The recent agreement signed between Prosecco Cycling and Autotorino BMW also moves in a sustainable direction. All vehicles used for the Valdobbiadene event will be fully electric. Furthermore, on the eve of Prosecco Cycling, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, at the Tenuta Sandi in Valdobbiadene, participants will be able to take a test drive through the Prosecco hills with staff from Autotorino (the Villorba dealership) aboard the new BMW and MINI models, subject to booking via a dedicated online form for Prosecco Cycling participants.
Stefani reaffirms the importance of a commitment to the local area, generating international relationships to certify and promote the Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene as a world cycling and cycle tourism destination. This involves training hospitality facilities, commercial activities, and restaurants, as well as collaborating with local authorities for the construction of cycle paths and dedicated services for cycle tourists. This sector involves millions of people worldwide and generates a global market with an estimated value of 150-160 billion dollars in 2026.
