Varese: Record-breaking Gran Fondo with 5.000 registrants

Context

TL;DR

• 5.000 registered participants from over 25 nations
• Approximately 2.000 athletes from abroad
• Tenth edition concluded on Sunday, October 4
• Ferraro Morey and Rumasaite win the Granfondo

Key facts

• Event: Gran Fondo Tre Valli Varesine
• Edition: tenth
• Registered participants: 5.000
• Foreign athletes: approximately 2.000
• International participation: over 25 nations
• Organizer: Società Ciclistica Alfredo Binda
• Granfondo route: approximately 130 kilometers
• Trophy: Fondazione Varese Welcome

Five thousand registered participants from over 25 nations brought the tenth edition of the Gran Fondo Tre Valli Varesine to a new participation record. On Sunday, October 4, the Fondazione Varese Welcome Trophy closed out a weekend of great international cycling, with thousands of athletes competing across Varese and its province.

Total registrations reached 5.000. The event thus brought together participants from Italy and abroad around a program combining sport, passion, and discovery of the area. The source puts the number of foreign athletes present at approximately 2.000 for the tenth edition.

The weekend featured the Gravel Experience, the Individual Time Trial, the Gran Fondo and the Medio Fondo. The various events animated Varese and the Varesotto before Sunday’s conclusion, when the road races took place. The event’s route thus accommodated different formats while keeping amateur cycling at its center.

The event was organized by Società Ciclistica Alfredo Binda, which celebrated its tenth edition with an event of even greater sporting prestige. Tre Valli Varesine was in fact the venue for the UEC Gran Fondo European Championships. The event was also part of the UCI Gran Fondo World Series calendar and the Gran Fondo Series Gobik circuit.

The presence of the UEC European Championships extended across the entire weekend and gave the events held in Varese province international prominence. The tenth edition concluded after days featuring thousands of cyclists and participation that extended beyond Italy’s borders.

On Sunday, the results of the Medio Fondo and Gran Fondo were decided. In the flagship event, victory went to Alessio Ferraro Morey; among the women, Lithuanian Rasa Rumasaite prevailed. Their wins brought to a close an event that the source describes as record-breaking in terms of registrations and international reach.

The participation figure, together with the presence of the European Championships and international circuits, characterized the tenth edition of Tre Valli Varesine. Varese and its province provided the backdrop, with the weekend’s activities and the various competitions included in the program taking place across them.

Operational details

Results over the two distances

Sunday's competition was divided between the Medio Fondo, with a course of approximately 100 kilometers, and the Gran Fondo, the premier event covering approximately 130 kilometers. The two races produced close finishes and standings also shaped by competition between different categories.

The Mediofondo

Among the men in the Mediofondo, Francesco Pirro won, also finishing first in category 19/34. His time was 2 hours, 35 minutes and 16 seconds. Matteo Foppiano finished behind him, just a few tenths back, while Emanuele Labate finished third, less than a second behind the winner. Foppiano and Labate also belong to category 19/34.

The women's race was won by Michela Gorini, who crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 53 minutes and 45 seconds. Gorini belongs to category 50/54, but recorded the best overall result among the women. Jutta Stienen, also in 50/54, came second with a time of exactly 3 hours. Overall third place went to Anna Cadorin, of category 19/34, who stopped the clock at 3 hours and 5 seconds.

The Granfondo

The Gran Fondo took place over approximately 130 kilometers, among the climbs, descents and landscapes of the province of Varese. The course revisited some iconic locations from the 2018 Gran Fondo World Championships in Varese: Valganna, Valceresio, Lake Maggiore, Valcuvia and the return toward Varese.

In the men's overall standings, Alessio Ferraro Morey, of category 19/34, won with a time of 3 hours, 10 minutes and 56 seconds. Giovanni Loiscio finished second and edged out Lucio Pierantozzi in the sprint. Both are in 19/34, and there were just 12 hundredths between them.

The women's finish was even closer. Lithuanian Rasa Rumasaite won in 3 hours, 44 minutes and 2 seconds, also taking the 19/34 category. Martina Cavallo finished second and was the top finisher in 35/39. Frenchwoman Marion Bessone was third, also in 35/39. The first three women finished within just one second.

The Gran Fondo result was accompanied by reported female participation of more than 400 registered athletes. The standings therefore combined Rumasaite's success, the competition between the 19/34 and 35/39 categories, and a minimal gap between the top positions. On the men's side, Ferraro Morey's victory came after a finish decided by equally close times for second and third place.

Key points

An international race in the Varese area

The international dimension of the tenth edition is evident from where the entrants came from. France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands were among the countries most strongly represented, but the list of participants also included athletes who arrived from the United States, Canada, Japan and Brazil. The event attracted approximately 2,000 foreign athletes out of 5,000 total entrants and received registrations from more than 25 countries.

These figures also turned the Tre Valli Varesine into an opportunity to promote tourism in Varese and its province. The source pointed to the connection with the area alongside the sporting dimension: cyclists took part in the races and crossed the Varese area during a weekend built around the event's various formats.

The role of Fondazione Varese Welcome

This year, the collaboration with Fondazione Varese Welcome, which gives its name to the Trophy, is aimed precisely at strengthening the event's tourism dimension. The stated objective is to highlight the economic and tourism benefits for the area. The trophy's name thus links the cycling competition to the promotion of Varese and its province, without separating the sporting result from the discovery of the places touched by the races.

The weekend began with Saturday morning's Gravel Experience, which attracted 400 entrants. It continued with the Individual Time Trial, in which 500 cyclists took part, and was completed with Sunday's road races. Taken together, these events brought thousands of people onto the roads of the Varese area.

An event built with a local network

The source attributes the result to Società Ciclistica Alfredo Binda, together with the institutions, partners and volunteers. The organizational work supported both the events on the programme and the European event hosted by the Tre Valli Varesine.

The presence of the UEC European Championships made the transition from Saturday's competitions to Sunday's road races even more special. The balance sheet for the tenth edition therefore includes the participation record, the arrival of athletes from numerous countries and the intention to strengthen, through Fondazione Varese Welcome, the event's economic and tourism value for Varese and its province.

Source: varesenews.it