While road cycling ventures onto the dirt roads of Siena and the cancellation of a Qatar Airways flight prevented the Italian national team from going to Australia for the Track World Cup, In Ticino, cycling has been going on for some time now in the new Sigirino velodromeThey mounted it in the CMFG Arena, 15 kilometers from the Laveno Ponte Tresa border, the announced motorway junction will bring it even closer to Italy.
166-meter track
The facility has been active since January 2nd, the velodrome since the 12th exclusively for Ticino kids, while The UCI issued the approval on January 26Since February, the track has also been open to the public.
The lower part of the ring measures 166 meters, the slope of the curves is 48 degrees. In addition to cycling, the arena hosts a wide variety of sports disciplines.From cycling to athletics, Nordic and Alpine skiing, trampolines and curling, games room with 4 bowling lanes, an academy for high-performance skaters and also team sports including ice hockey, which has a dedicated shared and multi-purpose playing field.
«It was not built on the recommendation of the Cycling Federation – explains Loris Palà, director of the facility – but because we understood that there was a lack of a covered training facility south of the Alps, which could also be interesting for nearby Lombardy. The track was built on the model of the one in Geneva, because it fit perfectly with the size of our structure."
Open all year round
Elite athletes will train on the track, while young people and amateurs will run, each with their own time slot: the reservation takes place via the Arena website.
The price for driving on the track is 20 Swiss francs per hour (about 22 euros). Obviously it is also possible to subscribe annual subscriptions costing 850 francs (935 euros) or six-monthly at a cost of 550 francs (607 euros). Recently, plans have been made monthly subscriptions for 90 francs.
"It's difficult to say how many cyclists will use it," Palà continues, "without having a history. However, we believe that there is a particular interest in the track also from us and that's why we think of keep it open for 12 months a year».
Rental bikes
To enter the velodrome with a track bike, the Arena management recommends participation in a basic introductory courseOtherwise, you can bring your own bike or rent one.
The bicycles supplied to the Arena are equipped with MICHE MT4 pedals and they are obviously compatible with the velodrome rental shoes, but nothing prevents you from bringing your own shoes and pedals.
Bike, helmet and shoe rental For subscribers it costs 20 Swiss francs, for non-subscribers it rises to 40It is clear that If you stay on the track for more than an hour, the bicycle fee is paid only once.So if I don't have a season ticket, I ride for two hours and rent a bike to do it, I'll pay 20+20 francs for the track and 40 francs for the bike.
Guesthouse and catering
The CMFG Arena It has no architectural barriers and is a combination of comfort and modernity. It offers athletes the opportunity to stay in 44 rooms for a total of 176 beds, 88 of which are designed for people with disabilities.
It is expected in the summer the opening of a sports clinic Meanwhile, the refreshment areas are already fully operational. The Ciossa Restaurant & Lounge is open for lunch and dinner on weekends, and the Arena Bar Sport is open all day with kitchen service available.
The first concrete pour is dated November 2023, two years before the opening. Thinking about the Spresiano's delays, it makes you want to roll your eyesWho knows, maybe the Sigirino track, especially when the motorway junction on the A2 Chiasso-San Gottardo is built, will become attractive for riders from Lombardy and Piedmont whose alternative for now is to go to MontichiariJust in these days, to make it clear how tempting the new facility is, the boys from the Tuscan Regional Committee returned from Sigirino
Loris Palà did not tell us about the costs of the track, saying that the total cost of the work comes from the sum of many different costs. However, observing the CMFG Arena one gets the feeling that by rationalising the process and with clear ideas, it is possible to build a real sports city for the benefit of champions and citizens. Not a cathedral in the desert, but something to be rightly proud of.
