VOLPIANO – Next May 5th the Gios Gathering, the ride reserved for those who own a Gios bicycleLast year it was held exceptionally in July and celebrated the legendary Brooklyn team. This year it returns to its traditional location in May, once again forging a strong bond with the Giro d'Italia.
The next May 5th edition will be the seventh, but above all it promises to be a truly special event since it will coincide with the start of the Giro d'Italia from Turin. The Corsa Rosa will start the day before, Saturday 4 May, from the Reggia di Venaria Reale.
As many sports fans know, May 4th is a very important date for the city of Turin, and indeed for the Torino football team. On May 4, 1949, the “Grande Torino” perished in the Superga tragedy., one of the teams that shaped the history of world football. As many already know, the Giro d'Italia has chosen to commemorate that great team. The winner of the first stage of the Giro will wear a very special pink jersey.The collar will bear the following inscription: “Grande Torino 1949 – Only fate won them.”
Gios also decided to pay homage to that great team and wanted to do so with the style and passion for history that has always distinguished the Turin brand (photo Valerio Minato in the opening). Marco Gios, the creative soul of the family business, tells us more.
What links Gios to the Grande Torino?
I confess that I'm not a big football fan. However, I am a fan of the history of sport and the Grande Torino It has certainly written indelible pages in the history of Italian sport. There's also a musical connection that ties me to Torino...
A musical connection? Can you explain it better?
From 2003 to 2009 I was part of the Statute, a Turin-based musical group... but above all, a Torino fan, with a strong Torino loyalty. Suffice it to say that the anthem played at the "Grande Torino" stadium before Torino matches was composed by Statuto.
In short, all the conditions are there to celebrate the Grande Torino on the occasion of the start of the Giro.
Exactly. As you know, with the exception of last year, The Gios Rally has always taken place in May, coinciding with the Giro's passage through Turin.As soon as it was announced that the Giro d'Italia would start from Turin and that the start would be on May 4th, 75 years after the Superga tragedy, we thought that as Gios we had to do something…and that something could only be a special limited edition Gios celebrating the champions of the Grande Torino.
How did you go about celebrating that great team?
A key role was played by Herbie Sykes, an English journalist and writer, a huge sports fan, especially cycling, who has lived in Turin for several years. Thanks to him, I got in touch with the Museum of the Great Turin and the Granata Legend Based in Grugliasco, near Turin, and run by volunteers from the Granata Historical Memory Association, the idea of creating a special Gios took shape after meeting them.
What are its characteristics?
The name of the model will be “Grande Torino” and only 11 units will be made, eleven like the owners of a football team. Frame and fork are made of Columbus Spirit steel, characterized partly by braze-welded frames with lugs and partly without lugs. The groupset will be Campagnolo's Centaur, while the wheels will be Miche, with a silver-black alternating pattern spanning several eras. In addition to the traditional “Blu Gios” colour, some parts of the frame, such as the fork, will have a reference to the garnet colour., typical of the Torino jersey. The horizontal tube will feature the following inscription: "Ageless, a mixture of legend and reality." It's taken from the song "Grande," dedicated by Statuto to the Grande Torino, with lyrics by journalist Gian Paolo Ormezzano, a recognized Torino fan. The bike will be exhibited and officially presented on May 4th on the eve of our Rally.
By the way, what will be the program for this year's Gios Rally?
The traditional "Waiting for the Rally" event is scheduled for Saturday, which will be truly special this year as the first stage of the Giro d'Italia will pass practically in front of our headquarters in Volpiano. Those who wish can then go cycling with one of our guides to see the race pass over the San Vito climb., the last difficult climb before arriving in Turin. The next day will be the "Raduno Gios," which will once again feature the Giro d'Italia.
In what sense will the Giro still be a protagonist?
As you know, the second stage will take the group to Oropa. Participants in the Gios Rally will meet here at our headquarters between 9 and 10 a.m. and then head towards Mazzè, where the Giro d'Italia is scheduled to pass. We'll watch the riders pass by there, after which we'll all have lunch together in Mazzè. At the end of lunch and the traditional awards ceremony we will return here to the headquarters in VolpianoIn the end, we'll have covered just under 60 kilometers. Thanks to the Giro, and to the memory of the Grande Torino, I'm sure this will be an edition of our Gathering we'll remember for a long time.
