Vintage Bike Rides in Italy, Schedule

The well known L'Eroica has led to a full series of vintage bike rides across Italy, the Giro d'Italia d'Epoca series which is now starting its 3rd edition. The calendar of events has been outlined and published but is not finalized; check event websites for the latest information.



21/22 April, LA STORICA, Pietra Ligure (SV) – Liguria
www.lastorica.it


6 May, LA CAMPIONISSIMA, Molare (AL) - Piemonte
www.lacampionissima.it


13 May, LA GARDA VINTAGE, Desenzano (BS) – Lombardia
www.eroica-ciclismo.it


26/27 May, LA MEDICEA, Quarrata (PT) – Toscana
http://www.chiantiginobartali.it/it/blog


3 June, LA CANAVESANA, Albiano d'Ivrea (TO) - Piemonte
www.lacanavesanadepoca.it


9/10 June, LA POLVEROSA, Monticelli Terme (PR) – Emilia
www.lapolverosa.eu


17 June, L'ALPINA, Trento (TN) – Trentino
www.l'alpinavintage.it


7/8 July, K2 CICLOSTORICA, Udine (UD) – Friuli
www.gsk2.it


1/2 September, VACAMORA, Schio-Altopiano di Asiago - Veneto
www.vacamora.it


9 September, LA CARRARECCIA, Bolsena (VT) - Lazio
www.trombadores-team.com


29/30 Septemeber, LA OTTAVIO BOTTECCHIA, Vittorio Veneto (TV) - Veneto
www.laottaviobottecchia.it




Latest information about L'Eroica here.

Photos: La Storica

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

New from Wilier: Toni Bevilacqua Single Speed

New from Wilier: Toni Bevilacqua Single Speed. Antonio (Toni) Bevilacqua was an accomplished track and road cyclist. He was the track individual pursuit world champion in 1950 and 1951, won Paris-Roubaix in 1951, and won eleven Giro d'Italia stages between 1946 and 1952.

Available in blue (click on photo to enlarge) and black.

Features:

CrMo steel frame with track rear drop outs

CrMo steel fork with one inch threaded steerer

32h polished aluminium alloy silver wheel rims on polished aluminium silver alloy flip-flop hubs 16/16t

Polished aluminium alloy silver 170mm cranks with 44t chainring.

KMC silver 1/8" chain

Polished aluminium alloy silver bars and stem

Polished aluminium alloy Tektro R510A dual pivot brakes

700x23 gumwall tires

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Gran Premio Costa degli Etruschi

The Italian racing season started today with the Gran Premio Costa degli Etruschi, a race between San Vincenzo and Donoratico on the Tuscany coast. The winner was Verona's Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) who had started the race with the number "1" bib having won last year as well. Finishing 2nd and 3rd in the bunch sprint were Sasha Modolo (Colnago) and Filippo Baggio (Utensilnord). Viviani has started very well this year, also winning a stage in the Tour of San Luis in Argentina.

Record cold and snow are gripping northern Italy, and even the Tuscany coast and Rome have not been spared. There were questions if the event would even start but it did but with a shortened distance of 169km, normally 194.km.

In Rome:

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Milano-Torino, Oldest Italian Classic Race, Returns

RCS Sports has announced that it will re-launch "Milano-Torino", the oldest Italian one-day classic. The race, which was last took place in 2007, will be held on September 26th. RCS Sports has signed a three year agreement, ending in 2014, with the Associazione Ciclistica Arona which will be responsible for organizing the race.

The first edition of Milano-Torino was held in 1876. The first race was won by Paolo Magretti, an engineering student who participated along with seven other competitors. The race began at 4:00 a.m., Magretti was the first to cross the finish line on via Giulio Cesare in Torino in late afternoon to the cheering crowd which numbered 10,000.

Only four of the eight starters finished the 150 km race which took 11 hours and 15 minutes at an average of 13.3 km/hour. In the most recent editions the distance has been 199 km.

It's worth noting that this race has been put on the calendar three days before Il Lombardia which this year has been moved up to September 29th.

Note: RCS Sports owns the Giro d'Italia, Milan-Sanremo, Il Lombardia, Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade Bianche, and Gran Piemonte races.

Photo: old logo

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

"The Toughest Race in World's Most Beautiful Place"

The 2012 Giro d'Italia publicity campaign got under way today with the above poster. It uses the Giro slogan, introduced in 2009, “La corsa più dura del mondo nel Paese più bello del mondo” along with a new project for 2012 “Be the Next Fighter”. The “Be the Next Fighter” campaign, selected three cyclists to be the models in the campaign through a social media contest (if you weren't reading ICJ you may have missed the contest); one of the cyclists is seen above.

Click on image to enlarge.

The Giro gets underway in Herning, Denmark, on May 5th and finishes in the heart of Milano on May 27th.

Note: reader Micheal left a question asking if the poster with Jered Gruber's photo wasn't the official poster (below). The reply is that it is but this is another poster that was announced yesterday, that of combining the slogan with the new "Be the Next Fighter" project.


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Bartali - Tribute to the Italian Champion on Holocaust Memorial Day

We have written in the past about Gino Bartali's efforts to help Jews in WWII, and to save lives of Catholics and dissidents; he also used his position to bring information and documents to the Italian resistance movement. The following was received on January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, from the La Fondazione Gino Bartali Onlus:

"One of the greatest champions in the history of cycling, Gino Bartali, could be made one of the “Righteous” in Israel. Almost 70 years after the events, and twelve years after his death, evidence is finally coming to light of his hitherto unknown actions during the Second World War, which helped to save the lives of 800 Jews.

In 1943 Bartali, who had already won the Tour de France once and the Giro d’Italia twice, was assigned to the traffic police by the fascist regime, before leaving the job on 8 September. That was when he went underground, choosing to help persecuted Jews by smuggling identity photos to a convent that produced counterfeit papers. As far as the soldiers who guarded the road between Florence and San Quirico, near Assisi, were concerned, Bartali was merely on a 380-km training run. In fact, valuable documents were hidden inside the frame and saddle of his bicycle.

Details about Bartali’s actions began to emerge just two or three years ago, thanks to a university research project that collected testimony from a nun, Holocaust survivors and their descendants. Andrea Bartali, his son, has continued this research with the support of the Jewish community in Tuscany and the journalist Laura Guerra.

In Israel, the Yad Vashem Memorial is currently studying the evidence with a view to granting Bartali the posthumous distinction of “Righteous Among the Nations”, awarded to those who placed their lives in danger to save Jews.

Right up to his death, Bartali rarely spoke about these acts of bravery, keeping them secret even from his wife. One day he said, simply: “Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”

Towards the end of 1943 he was thrown into prison for 45 days, officially because of his support for the Vatican, which opposed the fascist regime. By chance he was never required to appear before the special war tribunal and was set free without trial.

On his release he resumed his career and won a third Giro d’Italia and a second Tour de France, while the tifosi couldn’t get enough of his legendary rivalry with Fausto Coppi.

Today the Fondazione Bartali honours his memory and reiterates one of the great champion’s sayings: “If sport is not a school of life and brotherhood, it is worthless.”"


Related stories in ICJ:

Gino Bartali: "Righteous Among the Nations" Title
Plaque Dedicated to Gino Bartali
More Gino Bartali Secrets Revealed


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2012 Tirreno-Adriatico Course Announced

The course for 2012 edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico, the "Due Mare" (Two Seas), was announced this morning in San Vincenzo (LI). In summary: Seven stages (two of which are time trials), 1063 km, start in San Vincenzo and finish in San Benedetto del Tronto, March 7th to 13th. Note: Milan-Sanremo follows closely on March 17th.



Among the big name riders: Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, World Champion Mark Cavendish, Philippe Gilbert, and Italians Vincenzo Nibali, Michele Scarponi, and Filippo Pozzato. "I like the course very much," said Scarponi winner of the 2009 edition. "Its spectacular, in particular the stage with the finish in Prati di Tivo (stage 5). The longer the course is hard the better it is for me."

Stage 1, March 7: San Vincenzo - Donoratico (team time trial), 16.9 km

Stage 2, March 8: San Vincenzo-Indicatore, km 230

Stage 3, March 9: Indicatore-Terni, km 178

Stage 4, March 10: Amelia- Chieti km 252

Stage 5, March 11: Martinsicuro-Prati di Tivo km 196

Stage 6, March 12: Offida-Offida km 181


Stage 7, March 13: San Benedetto del Tronto (individual time trial), 9.3km
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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.