It was presented last night, The 48th Giro della Lunigiana, held at the Terre di Luni farmThe "Race of Future Champions" has been nicknamed as such over the years given the names that have emerged from it. Just think that the winner of the Giro Next Gen 2024 Jarno Widar, last year he won the first two semi-stages of the Tuscan raceIf we broaden our gaze to the top ten of the Giro Next Gen then we also find two other faces who were present in Lunigiana in 2023: Paul Torres and the winner Leo Bisiaux.
Great anticipation
When you have such an important lineup, it's normal for the attention to be high, especially when it comes to the junior category. Young riders people are tempting and if you want to see the best in the world then the appointment is for September 4th in Luni for the start of the first stage.
"Yesterday, 200 guests attended the race presentation," says Alessandro Colò, one of the organizers, "including sponsors, institutions, and cycling enthusiasts. A good number for a junior race. For the 2024 edition we will no longer have the arrival of the last stage in Luni, but the departureWe wanted to do something in style, We will start from the archaeological excavations of the Roman city and from their heart: the amphitheatre. There will be the signature sheet and the 48th edition of the Tour of Lunigiana».
Confirmed cities but also some interesting news
Most arrivals and departures have been confirmed, with some changes to the route, however. The names that made this race famous will all be there: the arrival at the top of Bolano and Terre di Luni. The good news is the return of La Spezia as the arrival point for the first stage. An important new entry is that of Sestri Levante, from where the second semi-stage on Friday will start.
How did Sestri Levante's entry come about?
In 2023, the mayor of the city came to see a stage and appreciated our organization and the race. So he asked us if he could have a departure from his cityWe already have an entirely Corsican fraction in Tigullio, with the introduction of Sestri there are now three cities in this region.
The semi-stages have been moved from the first day to the third.
The issue is logistical, but also related to the public. The arrival of Bolano always brings together a large number of fansWe wanted to hold it on Friday afternoon to allow even greater numbers of the public to flock there.
Let's look at the design of the race, it seems more softened.
More than anything, the choice was to make the race more “exciting” from the first to the last day. The stage from Portofino to Chiavari no longer has the same altitude difference as last year but is better distributedWe expect the final 20 kilometers to be explosive, thanks to the introduction of a new climb, Bocco, known to us as Leidi. Five challenging kilometers that could be a great springboard.
What do you mean by sparkling race?
We are expecting you brawl until the last kilometer of the last day. Also because the final stage goes from Fivizzano to the Terre di Luni farmIt's going to be a busy one. Last year, the final stage meant little for the standings. Instead, in this edition there will be three passages on the Montemarcello climb, the top-seeded men will have to come out into the open.
Speaking of ranking men, Lorenzo Finn attended the presentation yesterday.
We invited him as an Italian champion and Ligurian athlete. Furthermore, in 2023 he was rider-up, behind Léo BisiauxHe will certainly be at the start of this edition to represent his region and show off the tricolour jersey.
The risk was that it would not be available, given the overlap with the Grand Prix Ruebliland, another international junior race in Switzerland.
Some national teams will have to split between us and them and that's not a very nice thing. We had also thought about bringing forward the days of the race by moving everything to the end of August, but it would have been impossible. Ours is a very touristy area, you can tell by the places we visited, and the hotel facilities would not have been able to accommodate usThe event remains scheduled for September 4th, and the show will still be guaranteed.
