A series of races dedicated to youth female cycling, from beginners to students, even reaching the junior categoryThe name of the event is Pink Triptych of the High Treviso March and one of the promoters and organizers of the event is the Giorgione Cycling Union, represented by Enrico Bonsembiante and Alessandro Ballan. The 2008 Varese world champion became president of the historic team last year and has since worked to broaden the horizons of the women's youth movement.
«The response – says Ballan – was more than positive from the participants. The level of organization, however, was very high profile. We were very pleased with the feedback. The girls had a great time, and in the junior category, the movement's key athletes also took part."
Three days of competition that allowed many athletes to run…
The turnout was really high, we were a little unlucky because the weather penalized us on Friday. The race was scheduled to take place on a street circuit in Castelfranco Veneto, the departure of which we delayed because we waited for the roads to dry.
The numbers speak of 600 presences…
It was a good sign. Obviously the number refers to total departures, considering that it was three days of competition, we had athletes who competed over multiple days. The number of participants made us understand that these events are useful and beneficial for the movement., youth cycling is moving a lot towards stage races and this is a first step for us too.
What do you think of this first edition?
We're satisfied, there are some things that need to be fixed but we're talking about details that only come to light when you're on the pitch. For example, I think it's better to organize a stage race rather than a three-day one., especially for the junior category. The commitment and participation could be greater, or at least the number would be consistent across the three events.
You ran between Castelfranco Veneto and the Valdobbiadene Hills. How did you choose the locations?
Castelfranco is my hometown, and I was planning on running a race there, but it's difficult to organize everything due to traffic and permits. It seems small, but we're talking about a town of 30.000 people. In short, it's not easy to get everyone to agree, but we managed to do it with the street circuit.Then the involvement of Mosnigo and the Valdobbiadene Prosecco area came thanks to the son of Angelo Presti, a historic organizer and figure who gave so much to cycling in the Mosnigo area.
How did you divide the races?
After the first on the Castelfranco Veneto street circuit we moved to the Valdobbiadene area. The second day was a time trial, we wanted to design a more undulating route, but this was not possible due to the traffic closure directives. We turned to two city circuits: a shorter one on which the rookies racedThe other, longer one, was for female and junior students.
The third and final day?
We had the road test, for the beginners it was a flat course in Mosnigo. The students did the same but with a variation on the last lap on the climb towards Follo to make the race tough. As for the juniors, however, they ran five laps on this very demanding course.
Did you also take care of the technical aspect?
A lot. Even though the Castelfranco street circuit was only 1,3 kilometers long, we included a cobbled section. Not an impossible thing, but it's right to make girls understand how to run on routes that don't only include asphaltLikewise, in the road race we included many narrow roads where it was important to run ahead and stay focused. In short, a taste of real cycling.
Any other notes you take home?
One important one is that next year we would like to bring the event forward by a week. The proximity to Lunigiana and the coincidence of a race in Emilia-Romagna for the juniors (added to the calendar later, ed.) he took away some participants from usThe month of August is perfect for us, both for traffic and for families, who can follow the girls with greater participation.
