VOLPIANO – The eighth edition of the Gios rally, the traditional annual event reserved for owners of bicycles from the Turin brand, is taking place in three different places this year. This isn't just an advertising slogan. but to a beautiful initiative born from the mind of Marco Gios and the precious contribution of his friends Roberto Gamba and Davide TessaroloUntil last year, the gathering took place over a single day, but this year's edition will be spread over three days, with a double prologue that will preview the official gathering scheduled for June 2nd.
To find out more, we decided to visit Marco Gios in Volpiano., on the outskirts of Turin, where the company is based.
Where did the decision to hold a three-day event come from?
The inspiration came to me from the project “History by Bike”, promoted by former senator Michelino Davico, who every year offers a multi-stage bike ride tied to the history of our country. So I had in mind to make our gathering a multi-stage event. It all came together on my birthday. when my friends Roberto Gamba and Davide Tessarolo they showed up with a map that took inspiration from “Crown of Delights”, a circular cycling route around Turin that passes all the Savoy royal residences. From that moment, the first Gios stage rally took shape.
Let's introduce it step by step, starting from the first...
The days of Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June are a sort of pre-rally which around twenty Gios bicycle owners enthusiastically joined, a perfect number and above all, manageable for us on a logistical levelWe will depart from our headquarters in Volpiano and head towards Almese to watch the Giro d'Italia pass through on the Verres-Sestriere stage. Every year we have wanted, whenever possible, to link our gathering to the passage of the Corsa Rosa and this year we did it again.
After watching the Giro pass by, we'll head towards Avigliana. Those who wish can show off their climbing skills by tackling the nearby climb to the Sacra di San Michele.
The day will end after having travelled 55 kilometres with a dinner at the local Cycle kitchen while for the night we will sleep at the Casa Conte Rosso, also in Avigliana.
Let's move on to the second day, which offers our first glimpse into the story of Gios. Is that correct?
Exactly! On the second day, we'll travel from Avigliana to Pralormo. Along the 70 kilometers of the route we will visit the castle of Rivoli, the Hunting Lodge of Supinigi…but above all we will go and meet Eugenio Cussotto, “Il Curidur”, the one who with his memories of when he was a boy made sure that the birth year of the Gios brand changed from 1948 to 1947 (the limited edition model “Via Bogino 1947
The day will end in Pralormo where you will have dinner and spend the night at the Piedmont Bike Hotel Lo Scoiattolo.
We now arrive at June 2nd, the day of the traditional gathering and another memorable moment in the history of Gios…
As per tradition, we'll depart from our headquarters in Volpiano and head to Turin, where we'll meet up with the pre-rally participants. We will pass through Via Roma where the finish line was located in 1975, exactly 50 years ago, saw Wlaidimiro Panizza triumph in the Milan-Turin race, wearing a Brooklyn jersey and riding a Gios bicycle. We'll then all head to the Motovelodromo for a pasta party, after which we'll return to our headquarters in Volpiano for a fitting conclusion to the first Gios multi-stage rally.
We say goodbye to Marco with a firm handshake. There's certainly no shortage of preparations for next weekend's gathering. But everything is ready, and the organizational machinery is well underway.
For those who would like to participate and own a Gios bicycle, we remind you that you can also register on the morning of rally. However, it is advisable to first send an email to raduno@giostorino.it to confirm their presence.
To stay up to date on any news, we recommend visiting the rally page on the official Gios Torino website.
