No time to celebrate the closing of the Giro d'Italia that Fausto Scotti he immediately got back to work, for the first of the two stages of the Tour of the RegionsToday's Gallipoli event has a special significance, also hosting Daniele's Italian national team Punctual (his successor as technical director of Italian cyclocross) present in Puglia for a training course.
On the other hand, Scotti's mind is always in motion and the programs follow one another at an enormous pace: «If you saw my desk… The good thing is that even immediately after the circuit closed I received requests to host stages of the Giro».
How do you rate this edition of the Giro?
I can only be satisfied, the numbers have rewarded us once again. Many ask me what the secret of our challenge is: I believe it lies in our professionalism and that of the various local committees. We try to offer a diverse circuit, with each stage offering either a rideable or a more challenging route. Now we're already thinking about the next edition: the locations that hosted the 6 stages have asked for reconfirmation, but there are also 13 others who have applied…
Is the fact that the Giro sells out in the first two months a problem?
Not in itself, but by increasing the number of tests we will have to find other spaces. The Federation authorizes challenges of up to 6 races, but we will request to have 8We want to try to give answers to companies, sponsors and all those who invest in this movement and who cannot be overlookedBut the problem is deeper…
In what sense?
There are 55 national races on the calendar. After Covid, there was no turning back: everyone who applied was accepted. But how many of these races are actually eligible to be on the national calendar? Want to talk about safety? I'm hearing absurd reports from companies, about races with low attendance (but that's the least of it), with no attention to the routes or services. You have to get it into your head that to organize a high-level competition you have to investYou can't expect to have less than 250-300 meters of barriers in the finish area. Then you need at least 10 pit stations, arranged in sequence and 15 to 30 meters long. And so on, other details. We need to offer qualityIn San Colombano there was a Swiss judge who organizes national competitions in his country, he invited us to his place to bring our professionalism…
During the challenge, not everyone really followed the evolution of the circuit, competing in just a few events. Doesn't that affect its value?
I don't think so, because We look at the numbers first and these have rewarded us with hundreds of competitors at each stageThe problem of top players not competing for the rankings has multiple reasons. Meanwhile, after the first half of the circuit, it is already known who will be able to compete for victory and therefore there are those who go seeking glory elsewhere. Then our circuit inevitably overlaps with international races, with the Cup trials. View Viezzi, who won the first two stages and then devoted himself with great profit to the top world circuit.
Will the six stages be confirmed?
The orientation is certainly that. Tarvisio was a revelation, certainly geographically distant and expensive, but it offered a first-class inauguration. Furthermore the pairing with Osoppo It's really the best you can get at the start of the season. Corridonia proposed a fast and technical route, now they have asked us to host the final stage in 2024. Follonica is now a classic, a unique path that can be followed with a glance in its entirety, I actually believe that one can really invest in it for a great event. Cantoira has a lot to offer, especially in the new formula that we have devised this year by removing two uphill straights. San Colombano was the worthy closing: a revolutionized race that amazed everyone.
And now we're already off again...
With the Giro delle Regioni, we wanted to address some of the requests that had been put aside during the preparation of the Giro d'Italia, but there wasn't enough space on the calendar, so we proposed two stages, Puglia and Rome in early January. Our project, however, goes further and is very ambitious. We want to organize a competition in at least 6 regions, inviting the regional committees and offering them a contribution of 500 to 1.000 euros with a prize pool of at least 20 thousand euros.It should be a stimulus for youth categories and local activity, but we need to find spaces.
The Giro delle Regioni is in its second year, but this too is an experimental edition.
This year we've followed the Giro d'Italia formula, but the project, as mentioned, goes much further and focuses on the youth categories. In fact, we'll also include the youngest riders, in addition to the categories for the mentally disabled. We can do a lot, but The Federation must support us not so much financially, but by giving us freedom of movement and showing attention in compiling the calendar. Allow me to make a suggestion: A technical delegate with expertise on the routes would be needed, who could inspect them in advance and recommend any necessary improvementsGrowing the movement depends on these decisions…
