Feltre queen of cycling for three weekends. Ivan Piol: “1200 people involved in the events”

Five thousand amateurs at the races organized by Pedale Feltrino The organizer speaks: “The Gravel is a sort of zero edition”

FELT

Five thousand amateur cyclists from all over the world who will animate the territory of Feltre and beyond in the next three weekends. The month organized by Pedale Feltrino, chaired by Ivan Piol, kicks off.

The three weekend program

The number one of the association gives a picture of the situation a few days before the inaugural appointment scheduled for Saturday with the zero edition of the Sportful Dolomiti Gravel.

Ivan Piol, the three major cycling events of the year are kicking off in Feltre. How many people are involved in the organization?

“We are ready. From the point of view of the staff committed to ensuring that the events take place in the best possible way, we are talking about about 1,200 units that lend their work over the three days, where we expect a presence of about 5 thousand amateur cyclists. A considerable number, but easy to reach if you think about the numerous activities to be carried out. The management of the intersections alone requires at least 500, then refreshments, signs, police forces and so on must be added “.

The big news is the Gravel event, scheduled for Sunday. What is it about?

«First of all, let’s talk about a zero edition, it would not be correct to call it the first. For us it is a test, useful to better verify what are the needs and requests of this which is not a race, it should be remembered. Unlike the Granfondo and the 24 hours, there will be no rankings. Its purpose is to lead to the discovery of the territory, and in the specific case of Valbelluna, through secondary roads. In fact we will touch a large part of the Belluno ring, going up the Sinistra Piave, making a mark in Belluno and returning via the Destra Piave. As for the Gravel, we are talking about going with a racing bike on which, however, mountain bike wheels are mounted. It wants to be a form of pedaling whose approach is totally different from that of competitions. A real fun without the hassle of a stopwatch, which allows people to first admire places that we may not even know about, to stop at refreshment places and so on. At the moment we count on about 200 participants, but many will register close to the race. The goal is to reach 400 ”.

We come to the numbers of Granfondo and 24 hours.

«At the moment we are about 3,600 participants for the Granfondo, and this is a trend with the numbers of other similar national races. The two paths are also consolidated. The 24 hours, on the other hand, is about sixty formations. We are not yet at the levels of 80-90 stakes, but for this year it can be okay. The important thing is that people are responding. Among other things, the 24 hours is back after the two-year stop due to a pandemic ».

Let’s focus for a moment on the Belluno – Marmolada stage of the Giro d’Italia which in fact decided the 2022 edition of the pink race. A successful encore of Feltre – Croce d’Aune in 2019.

«I believe that events like this confirm one thing: those who organize in the area are really smart. Once again the territory proved ready to host both the stage and the collateral events. Suffice it to see for example the crowded pink nights in Belluno and Sospirolo. Then of course, the return in terms of tourism can only be understood in the medium and long term ».

We close with the Granfondo del Dragone and its almost 120 kilometers from Belluno to Nevegal scheduled for 4 September. You are one of the protagonists of the organization, even if not like Pedale Feltrino: you are thinking of a second path, perhaps less demanding, to increase the number of subscribers?

“It is a situation that will be examined for 2023. We will evaluate the actual need for a second, shorter route”.