Giro d’Italia 2023, after forty years Udine is in the front row for the grand finale

REGGIO EMILIA. Next Friday the Giro d’Italia, more uncertain than ever, will be in Friuli for its third to last act, the Marano Lagunare-Castelmonte stage, a fascinating lagoon-mountain journey through Friuli, with a detour to Slovenia, which could turn out to be indigestible aperitif at the grand finale on the Marmolada and in Verona.

But from the pink caravan, engaged in the second week of racing, and on Wednesday 18th of the stage in Reggio Emilia, sensational news bounces for Friuli Venezia Giulia: the 2023 edition could end in Udine.

The conditional is a must, God forbid, he has yet to assign himself this pink jersey, anything can happen, especially when a world-class sporting event is organized in a world that is falling apart, but leads a lot to Friuli and especially to Udine which could thus experience a dizzying month of May 2023.

The Cainero-Fedriga pact

We had already anticipated it during the winter of how patron Enzo Cainero, in close contact with the leaders of the Region and in particular the president Massimiliano Fedriga and his deputy, head of Civil Protection, Riccardo Riccardi, was working hard on the combination stage of the Vajont-time trial of Lussari, already epochal stuff in itself.

But behind this there is the big blow, that of ending the Giro 2023 in Udine, 40 years after the triumph of Giuseppe Saronni after the time trial which became legendary because it was won by Roberto Visentini, complete with sponsors of his Carrera that the the day before in Gorizia he had tried to poison the pink jersey with Guttalax.

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1983 was the year of the millennial of the city, the Giro d’Italia was a great tribute to Friuli which was reborn in record time from the earthquake of seven years earlier.

Since that edition the pink race has ended in the region only once, in 2014, again thanks to Cainero: stage of the Zoncolan on Saturday, with apotheosis for Nairo Quintana, Gemona-Trieste on the last day with a lot of overflight on the Gulf of Frecce Tricolors.
Now the Fedriga-Cainero ticket, which also maintains links with the Venetian president Luca Zaia, attempts an encore.

Alpini-great cycling

Which would be sensational for the city of Udine. Calendar in hand, in fact, from 10 to 12 May next, the city will host the national meeting of the Alpine troops, except for twists and turns given the well-known events.

In the meantime, the Giro d’Italia, probably from Abruzzo (the director of the Giro Mauro Vegni spotted the other day on the Blockhaus while meeting the president of the Region Marco Marsilio) will start on May 6 for its 106 edition.

If the negotiations between the patron of the Friulian stages, very buttoned – not fully armored to the maximum, confirms the dream of taking the tour to the Tarvisian sanctuary – went the right way from Wednesday 24 May to Sunday 28, the pink race could gravitate to the Northeast.

The same Vegni Vegni, as well as on the Lussari, with the lights off has already been in the city to talk about it face to face with the Friulian organizers. In fact, the effort to which the Civil Protection machine would be called with two major events to “accompany” over two weeks should not be underestimated, but the game is worth the candle because the return of image, especially in these difficult post-pandemic times, it would be huge.

June, the decisive month

However, there is a great unknown. If the stage of the tribute to Vajont, starting from the small town of Maniago among the symbols of the disaster of 59 years ago, and arriving in Longarone seems to be armored, this is not the case for the Lussari time trial, “logistically” speaking the most great attempt by Cainero and his staff in these twenty years of binges of the Giro d’Italia in the Northeast.

At the sanctuary, thanks to a commitment by the Region through the Civil Protection, work must be started this summer for the safety of the road that rises from Valsaisera, theater of the second challenge because the first will be on the cycle path from Tarvisio.

If within a month RCS has had the necessary guarantees that the works will be completed by the winter, then the grand finale in Udine will also be downhill. We just have to wait, remembering how in the last weekend of the next Giro there could also be a stage in the Dolomites and how Buja, at this point, is the great favorite to host the start of the last stage-catwalk in Udine.

The wait for the mayor

And the Municipality of Udine? He waits, and crosses his fingers. Also because, in order not to miss anything, next will also be a spring of administrative elections in the city. By the way, practically the day after his inauguration 4 years ago, in fact, the mayor Pietro Fontanini asked Cainero with an official letter to bring the Giro d’Italia back to Udine.

The arrival of the women’s pink race in the castle in 2019 and the start of the stage then concluded in San Daniele in the October 2020 edition of the men’s race, could have been just an appetizer.

«If we also got the arrival of the next Giro it would be a great result – Fontanini told us -. Cycling is a great vehicle for promoting the image of the territory, and Udine is a city with a great sporting tradition. I believe in it and I am waiting for good news ».

It would also be a gift for the new municipal administration. “Of course – explains Fontanini – and who knows if I don’t even do it to myself”. –

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