Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian

There is exactly one month to the first rider that will start from Radda in Chianti and then along 40 km of vineyards, olive groves and forests of the Chianti Classico, to arrive in Piazza Matteotti in Greve in Chianti.

It is called “Chianti Classico Stage” and it will take place on May the 15, strongly supported by Consortium Association of the wine producers to celebrate the 300 years of the Chianti Classico denomination.

The “pink group” will stay all day in the Chianti Classico Area, here since months we are preparing everything in the best way: locistics, organization, but also the welcoming and events. In Greve in Chianti for example, arrival place of the stage, there will be two weeks of celebration for the Giro d’Italia arrival: one before and one after the chrono-stage.

The villages are already dressed up: are appearing statues of giant balck roosters posed by the Consortium Association of wine producers, while from the town hall buildings begin to hang downs some pink flags…

Technically it will be an individual chrono-trial along the typical up and down Chianti roads, without even a flat country meters, with hard downhill roards and particularly difficult sections (for example in the area of Sicelle), this important stage also comes in the middle of Giro d’Italia, with runners already tired from the previous stages.

“A rather unusual itinerary – says Simone Borgheresi, professional cyclist of Greve in Chianti who in ’90s was Marco Pantani’s support rider – because in any case it is an “atypical” chrono-trial, as we call it in jargon. Because normally the chrono-trials are in the plains or are uphill time trial, whereas here we have a mixed itinerary.

In one word, is an hard stage, in which more than anything else I think will be very important the choice of the bicycle”.

So among vineyards and olive trees it could be decided who will win the “Maglia Rosa 2016” (the leader of the general classification is identified by a pink jersey): certainly there is a whole territory, the Chianti Classico, that can’t wait to see move on its streets the great international cycling.

Matteo Pucci