AGAINST ALL ODDS

The decision by the UCI that cycling will be a global sport is having a profound effect on traditional cycling countries such as Italy. It has become extremely tough for non-WorldTour races to survive in the face of all the efforts to promote the new races. As recently as 10 years ago, Europe was the capital of cycling but that’s all changing. There are all sorts of reasons for that but first and foremost it’s because the UCI is a money factory. It believes it can recreate a system in cycling that is similar to that of Formula 1, so that’s what it’s working towards.

Each March, we – Gruppo Sportivo Emilia – organise the Coppi and Bartali Week, a five-day stage race. The big problem is that it coincides with Gent-Wevelgem and the Volta a Catalunya – both WorldTour races – as well as five different Europe Tour events. You could say that it’s a free market and that any team can compete in any race they chose but of course it’s not like that. The WorldTour is a closed shop with no objective entry criteria. Teams such as Lampre-Merida and Cannondale, which are basically Italian, have 18 of their riders away hunting for WorldTour points. They may not want to send nine guys to Catalunya but they have no choice and that in turn impacts other races down the line, including ours.

Whether we like it or not, we have to work within the framework as it is. Rather than just throw in the towel, we need to be even more resourceful in finding new ways to succeed. That means producing interesting courses and spectacular racing. At GS Emilia, we’re actually

races to our stable. This year we’ve taken on

The point is that our race does n’t need the likes of Cade l Evans to be a great race and you can be su re the winner will be a futu re st ar

the Trofeo Laigueglia, a race which would have died had we not intervened. So in addition to Coppi and Bartali we now have five single-day events, which amounts to 10 days racing all told. Our rationale is that the more races we organise, the more visibility we can give our sponsors throughout the season. Since the exposure they get is cumulative, they’re not relying on a single event. What we can’t have – and what we can no longer pin our hopes on – are star riders. We need to get beyond that mindset, promoting instead what we do have. For example, we run the Giro dell’Emilia on the second Saturday of October and it’s been a fixture of the calendar since 1909. It’s a beautiful race with a spectacular finish on the San Luca climb in Bologna. It’s not in the WorldTour but it’s been won by all the really great champions – Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser and Jan Ullrich have Emilia on their palmarès – but people who have only known the WorldTour wouldn’t necessarily appreciate that. That’s a great shame but as custodians of the race, we have a responsibility to the people of Emilia to ensure that it carries on.

Races like these cost a minimum 100,000 at a time when there’s very little public money. It’s tough but we have to be positive. When Carlos Betancur won it in 2011, nobody had heard of him, and the same with Nairo Quintana in 2012. That tells you everything you need to know about the character of the race because these two are now among the most sought-after riders in the world. Last year Diego Ulissi won it, now he’s another one who looks ready to become a champion. The point is that our race doesn’t need the likes of Cadel Evans on the start line in order to be a great race and you can be sure that the winner is going to be a very big star in the future. Since that’s the kind of race it is, our job is to promote the fact.

I’m just back from the G.P. degli Etruschi, where there were seven Continental teams riding. That’s 56 young guys who got to ride alongside LampreMerida and Cannondale, and I’m proud to have been able to give them the chance. If some of them go on to become WorldTour riders then better still because, if it happens, we’ll have played a part.

So, ultimately it’s not that we’re trying to grow. We’re just five full-time staff backed by a group of people who have a great passion for this sport. You don’t get rich from organising bicycle races and in fact most of the people involved contribute both their time and money to supporting our endeavours. We’re determined to keep our race alive, though, because it’s who we are. We refuse to be beaten…