We had promised ourselves to return to the subject the day after the Vermiglio Cyclocross World Cup. The idea of Visit Val di Sole was that of ideally combine the summer and winter seasons by bike, using cross-country skiing as a promotional vehicle for its territory, opening the door to tourists from Belgium and Northern Europe.
After yesterday's Board of Directors meeting, which kept him busy all morning, Fabio Sacco takes stock of the situation three months after the event and a few days after the confirmation that also The snow race will return to the Vermiglio Valley on December 17, 2022..
«It was a board of directors of Outdoor activities program in Val di Sole – explains the General Director of Visit Val di Sole – and the bicycle is the product on which the most investment is being madeAnd the winter experience in Vermiglio was truly satisfying. We estimated a flow of 10 thousand people over the weekend, including spectators and athletes.And on the day of the race alone, there were 4.000 people on the course. Given that it was the only World Cup date on snow, we had immense media visibility. So much so that in the survey conducted on Facebook by the organizers of Flanders Classics, Van Aert's victory and Vermiglio's scenery were voted the most emotional moments of the cross-country season».
Did winter cycling bring the results you hoped for?
For us it turned out extremely strategic, the link between summer and winter. Furthermore, it allowed us to take a step towards the gravel world, which we are working hard on.
In what way?
We are working on a program for next summer, based on seven itineraries that we will call “Alpina Gravel”, with significant differences in altitude and all on dirt and forest roadsWe'll launch them with a series of invitation-only tests, inviting prominent figures and industry insiders, so that they'll be discussed before the summer.
Can gravel and mountain biking coexist?
I'd say yes. Maybe some of those trails will be similar to existing mountain bike trails, and some sections of forest roads will be common, but the mountain bike trails have more extreme descents and specific technical features.
Images from the Great War Epic Tour (photo Podetti) The Tonale Bike Park, now covered in snow, is a training ground for bikers (photo Podetti)
Images from the Great War Epic Tour (photo Podetti) The Tonale Bike Park, now covered in snow, is a training ground for bikers (photo Podetti)
So the bike events calendar remains at the heart of your season?
It will be, and in a major way too. From June 1st to 4th we will host theIMBALANCE Europe Summit, the tenth edition in which we will discuss the future directions of mountain biking. At the beginning of September we will have the Mountain Bike World Cup finals. Then in December there will be the Cyclocross World Cup in Vermiglio.
Were you able to draw up a tourist assessment of the first edition?
It's probably still early, especially since we're in the middle of the winter season, which went well in December, dropped off a bit in January, and picked up again in February. The Tonale area, which is the one Vermiglio focuses on, is doing wellLet's say that so far the biggest result of the World Cup has been fame through media attention.
How would you define the collaboration with Flanders Classics?
We are satisfied, because Belgians are the most experienced in this discipline. For this reason we asked them to personally follow the design of the route. Our team, however, observed them, adding the cross baggage to what they already had for mountain biking.
Was it difficult to get confirmation?
There was almost no need to talk about it. Already in December, given the size of the event, we had spoke to Thomas Van der Spiegel, the director of Flanders Classics, giving him verbal confirmationThen it took very little to reach another agreement. Vermiglio is ours, and snow cross is one of our flagships.
