Among the many races that were skipped last year, one in particular is capable of igniting incredible memories in anyone who participated: the Gold Cup from Borgo ValsuganaRace for students with the particularity that each rider receives a salary of one lira and competes for his own sports directorCancelling the Coppa d'Oro is like not having the Sanremo race there, so the organizers of the Veloce Club Borgo, rather than making it disappear and seeing as it is run in September, last year they invented some alternative demonstrations anywayBut it wasn't the same, so anticipation for the 2021 edition is already considerable.
Record registrations
«We already have around forty registered companies – says Stefano Casagranda, former professional and president of Vc Borgo – and of these, 30 arrived on the first dayWe opened registration on January 1st and after five minutes there were already plenty of names. It works that We usually admit the top 10 in the national ranking, then we assign numbers based on the registration date. Even if they always slip in and you find those with numbers higher than 100 in the front row."
Borgo and the bikes
The Golden Cup It was first organized in 1965 by Carlo Dalla TorreThe first three editions took place in the cities of Avio, Preore and Trento and starting since 1968 he landed permanently in Borgo Valsugana. The Vc Borgo The organizers mainly conduct activities with children aged 7 to 16, with a focus on adults, who are registered as amateurs. Over the years, alongside the Coppa d'Oro The Coppa Rosa (female students), the Coppa di Sera (male and female beginners) and the Coppetta d'Oro (youngsters) were born.
The routes They all start and arrive in Borgo Valsugana, with the Telve climb toughening the students' raceThe trials for the little ones instead take place within the village. Casagranda continues.
What happened in 2020?
We have organized competitions for beginners and students, men and women, the only ones in Trentino. They didn't start with 500 but with 150 and it was proof of the desire to react.
Will things go back to normal this year?
The desire is that, with just one question mark. A large part of the funds needed to organize the test come from the Patron Saint's Day, San Prospero, which takes place on the second Sunday of July and the following Monday. On that occasion, with the Veloce Club we have a food stand, with whose proceeds we support the Coppa d'Oro. Will festivals and celebrations be allowed again this year? For this reason, since January 1st we have done an agreement with a sponsoring research firm, which already operates in basketball and volleyball, to see if it can secure support from external sponsors. Not only that...
What else?
We will have to ask the Federation. It was thought to charge 10 euros for registration, which will be returned to those who stay overnight in Borgo and the surrounding area, in order to support the hotels in the area. The idea is to return to the classic formula, maybe even better, with more awards. And for us at Vc Borgo it could also be a good year, because we have a really strong student: Thomas CapraWe'll have a good little team this year.
Do the large number of registrations only concern students?
No, we have the problem of beginnersFor the students we have an exemption and they can run in 500. The beginners instead can run in 200, instead We receive 250 registrations for the first years and 250 for the second yearsBut we don't want another exemption either; there would be too many to keep on the streets and safe from harm.
How long does it take to organize the complete package?
There are times when we are relaxed, but Every week we receive emails from companies and sponsors that we need to respond to.We work all year round. The good thing is that on the board we have everyone around my age, under 50, and we have several ideas to put into practice. The last one was the idea of get the race doctor on the bike, so that it is more ready. And Covid permitting, we would like to organize a conference on the Friday before the race, talking about safety And topics of interest to everyone, with so many sports directors on site. I hope things return to normal by September. Besides, they're hosting the Marcialonga nearby on January 28th...
How are things going with the one lira coins?
Come on, There aren't any more. Now we have the 5 lire and then we'll move on to the euro cent.It's not a gadget we can ask for back; whoever has it is holding on to it. I don't even know exactly where they find the coins; I think the local bank takes care of that. When we did the 50th anniversary edition in 2015, even though we had already switched to the 5 lire, we managed to find one lira coins for the last time. And it was beautiful…
