Tomorrow the double date of the Tour of Emilia

the big day is here. Tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 5) the GS Emilia will offer the Giro dell’Emilia Granarolo and the Giro dell’Emilia BCC Felsinea Women’s Elite double event.Both races will start from the Rocca di Vignola in the province of Modena (men’s race start at 11:10 a.m., women’s start at 11:40 a.m.) and are expected to be packed with elements of particular interest.Participation in the two races is expected to be of the highest level. Among the expected protagonists of the men’s race are Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian champion and winner of, among others, three Tour de France and one Giro d’Italia, who will show off for the first time the rainbow jersey he won a few days ago in Zurich. In addition to the UAE Team Emirates rider there is particular anticipation for the presence of the gold medal winners of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Remco Evenepoel (Road and Time Trial) and Tom Pidcock (Mountain Bike) and the recent winner of the Vuelta Espana and a Giro d’Italia, Primosz Roglic who will attempt to win his fourth Giro dell’Emilia, Jay Hindley, winner of a Giro d’Italia, Richard Carapaz, Nairo Quintana, Eric Mas, as well as Italians Giulio Ciccone, Alessandro De Marchi, Antonio Tiberi and many others.Among the women, in addition to the winner of the 2023 and 2020 editions, Denmark’s Cecile Utrup Ludwig, there will be Madison Olympic champion Vittoria Guazzini, Zurich World Championships bronze medalist Elisa Longo Borghini, who after her 2015, 2016, and 2022 successes will aim for poker, and 2018 winner Rasa Leleivyte.THE ROUTES.This year, the start of the Giro dell’Emilia Granarolo will be from Vignola, a town that has a deep and enduring connection with the world of cycling. Vignola is not only known for its historical and scenic beauty, but also for being the arrival point of the famous Milan-Vignola, a competition that has made the history of Italian cycling, for hosting an Italian championship, the 1996 one won by Mario Cipollini, and many editions of the Bruno Beghelli Trophy.Preliminary operations will be held in the area of the Palazzo dei Contrari from the famous Rocca, and in the initial stages the riders will tackle the Castelvetro circuit, known as the Gessiere circuit, four times. After leaving the circuit, the group will head toward Samone until reaching Zocca, Vergato and Grizzana before heading to Sasso Marconi where, as part of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Bolognese scientist, a flying finish line will be held thanks to the sponsorship of the Guglielmo Marconi Foundation. It will then lap the places dear to Guglielmo Marconi to tackle the ups and downs of Via Montechiaro near the famous park, the scene of the Bolognese scientist’s experiments, and then head towards Monte San Pietro and reach the outskirts of Bologna. A short stretch on the Viali di Circonvallazione, then Porta Saragozza and the Arco del Meloncello, and here it begins, the first of the 5 ascents alongside the longest and, arguably, most beautiful portico in the world, listed as a UNESCO heritage site.The first passage over the finish line of the Colle della Guardia near the sanctuary of the Madonna di san Luca will mark four laps to the conclusion, and surely it will be in these kilometers, now famous and well known to all, that the decisive action will unfold, from which the new winner will emerge. Next October 5, in fact, the Giro dell’Emilia Donne BCC Felsinea will also be run. Created in 2014, the women’s version of the Emilia has become one of the events that teams mark with a red circle on their calendars. The roll of honor is also full of important names, including that of Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini, winner of three editions. Again, the preliminaries and start will be held in Vignola at the Palazzo dei Contrari and the athletes, after tackling a partial section of the Gessiere circuit, will head towards San Giovanni in Persiceto, Cento and Pieve di Cento and, along the Persicetana, to Borgo Panigale, before quickly reaching the city of Bologna. They will ride a short stretch on the Viali di Circonvallazione, then Porta Saragozza and the Arco del Meloncello, and here begins the first ascent to San Luca. Once the first ascent is over, an entire lap of the 9.2-kilometer circuit must be covered, including the descent of Casaglia and a further climb before reaching the final finish line where the Danish Cecile Utrupp Ludwig won a year ago. The races will be broadcast live on Rai Sport HD starting at 1 p.m., Rai 2 from 3:40 p.m. and Eurosport starting at 3 p.m.