"What a savior of Italian cycling! I just organize the races and try to do it as best as possible. In Italy there are many other good organizers, I'm thinking of the Tuscans, the guys from Tre Valli Varesine, ad Argentine with the Ionica... ". Adrian Friends he does not abandon his proverbial humility and his kindness.
The president of Gs Emilia is among the closest, willingly or not, to national cycling, the one that winks at the Professional and even more to Portugal. Even this year, despite everything, Amici managed to bring home almost its entire program.
Commitment and passion
But what are the difficulties in continuing to organize national races when there are fewer and fewer sponsors, when bureaucracy crushes you and the World Tour devours everything?
«I don't want to say that there are no difficulties – explains Amici – but with commitment, serenity and good collaboration from everyone, of the territory first and foremost, you can move forward. This year everyone on my team gave their all.
"The imposed protocols are increasingly complex. Today, it is the municipalities that decide, that have the final say, and no longer the Prefecture. So it's easy for someone to say no, and risk a stoppage, as happened with the Sanremo who had to change route. This year I also had two races that until the morning I didn't know if they were starting or not, the Giro dell'Emilia and the third stage of the Coppi and Bartali».
Sponsors and visibility
"It's not easy from this perspective either, but luckily we have established sponsors. We're not getting any new ones, which would be useful even if they're small, but the foundation is there: Junior high school, Sidi, Beghelli, Granarolo... Fixed costs are always there and the demand for participation is large and we want to maintain the high quality standard. of hospitality that has always distinguished the Gs Emilia. Therefore, each time we estimate how many participants we can have. I must say that the collaboration with the Emilia Romagna region It was very good. This Region, like those sponsors I mentioned, believe in what we do."
In short, there is not just the Giro and the Tour. The history and social fabric of cycling also passes through these races. Which are gold for the Continentals and perhaps even more so for the Professionals, who are having increasingly difficult time finding invitations abroad.
«The regulation I chose, to make teams of 6 instead of 7 riders, allows me to invite four more and this helps those teams that run less and they need visibility, even more so if I get a WorldTour. Their presence changes things if these teams bring the champion and not the intern. From an economic point of view, having a WorldTour has little or no impact. But I would like the champion. I was happy that the Deceuninck-Quick Step she came with Almeida e the Astana with Birdsong.
"In any case, the demand is there," Amici continues.Think that for the Coppi and Bartali I have 47 requests, but the rules require me to only send 175 riders. Maybe the Cpa He wants it that way. I'm sorry because it would give more opportunities to young people who need to run, especially nowadays when they're 18 or 19 years old. And then, in my opinion, maybe it's because I was running at the back of the pack and I struggled, here you can show yourself."
2021 with news?
Meanwhile, the 2021 calendar is already quite full. The Emilia GS will begin March 7th with Larciano, test which he will attend but which is in fact organised by the Larcianese. The Coppi e Bartali will take place from March 23rd to 27th. Il September 18th the Pantani Memorial, the day after the Matteotti (in collaboration with theUC Fernando Perna). October 2nd is the turn of the legendary Giro dell'Emilia, both men and women, and the next day here is the Beghelli.
«Furthermore, we are waiting for the Municipality of Laigueglia, March 3, Please let us know how the bidding process for this race goes. I'm very fond of it, as it was my first professional race. Even if we lose the bid, I'll always be a friend of this event.
«And then there is an important piece of news – concludes Amici – We have made a request at the UCI of a date for a new race, the Italian International Week, The location is to be defined. This race would coincide with the last week of the Tour de France. It would be perfect as a finishing touch in view of the Olympics For those who don't want to, or haven't been able to, go to France. The desire to try new things is also important for motivation, and this could be exceptional. I can only say that some WorldTour teams have already contacted us."
