Gala evening and conference: “Binda Trophy” has already begun

At a little over three weeks from the actual race (which will be held on Sunday, 28 March), the side events have already begun of the “Binda Trophy”, the first leg of the Women’s Cycling World Cup, which starts and ends in Cittiglio, and which will see the best women cyclists from all over the world.

THE GALA EVENING – Last Saturday saw the beginning of world cycling month, with a gala dinner for the authorities and sponsors, which was held at the restaurant “La Bussola” in Cittiglio, near the museum dedicated to the great Alfredo Binda. Participants in the evening, which was arranged by the organisers of Cycling Sport Promotion (CSP) (see photo) of the president Mario Minervino, also included the patron of the race, Noemi Cantele. The champion from Arcisate made no secret of the fact that she was aiming to achieve an important result on home turf, in the race which she won when she was a junior, but which has always eluded her as an elite. Cantele, who is now cycling with the HTC Columbia team, will be racing together with another “pro” from Varese Province, Valentina Carretta, from Caravate, who rides with the Fassa Bortolo team.

The dinner in Cittiglio was also honoured with the presence of a past great, Gianni Bugno, and of the federation’s president, Renato Di Rocco, who has always been a fan of great Italian cycling. Di Rocco also thanked the organisers who have brought back to Italy a Cup race that we had lost in previous years, and complimented them on receiving the award given by the International Cycling Union (ICU), which he judged to be the best organisation in the CSP for the Women’s World Cup, and the Under 23 and Junior categories.

BICI E MIMOSA 2 – The next event of the “Binda Trophy” will be at the weekend in Luino. On Saturday, 6 March, in Palazzo Verbania (at 8.30 p.m.), there will be the second “Bici e Mimosa”, a talk-show-style conference dedicated to women’s cycling, organised in collaboration with the active Avis Cycling Group, from Luino, of the president Franco Minetti. After the great success of last year, when a group of current cyclists were compared with about a dozen past cyclists (the famous “sprint girls”, who raced during the Sixties), on this occasion, a number of champions of this speciality will be present. The four guests that have already confirmed that they will be coming are Rossella Callovi (Junior World Champion), Noemi Cantele (silver and bronze in Mendrisio 2009), Edita Pucinskaite (the only woman to have won the World Championships, the Giro d’Italia, and the Tour de France; see photo), Diana Ziliute (two victories, four times on the podium at the World Championships) and Eleonora Patuzzo.

Also on this occasion, a number of cyclists of the past will be present, such as Pinuccia Banchini, Gianna Brovedani, Graziella Dal Bello, Giuditta Longari, Elisabetta Maffeis, Raffaella Micheletti, Giovanna Oriani, Ivana Panzi and Denise Turazzi, as well as Luisiana Pegoraro, who today is a sports director. The evening will be presented by the “voice” of women’s cycling, Alberto Rigamonti, and conducted by Fulvia Camisa of the magazine “Ciclismo”, which is a partner of the conference.

CYCLING CONFERENCE – The next World Conference on Women’s Cycling, which will be held at the “Ville Ponti” Conference Centre, in Varese, on Friday 26 March, was announced at the “Binda Trophy” Gala Evening. This event will be a starter to the World Cup, at which all of the roles involved in this discipline (directors, organisers, team managers, cyclists) will come together in the Garden City, under the aegis of the ICU and with the support of the Italian Cycling Federation, Federciclismo.

WOMEN’S GIRO – A few days ago, the other great women’s cycling event of the season, the Women’s Giro d’Italia, which will take place between 2 and 11 July 2010, was presented. The women’s race too will have an important moment in Varese Province, with the sixth leg, between Gallarate and Arcisate, on Wednesday 7 July.