1.
Road bicycle racing
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Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events. Professional racing has been most popular in Western Europe, centered historically on France, Spain, Italy, since the mid-1980s the sport has diversified with professional races now held on all continents of the globe. Semi-professional and amateur races are held in many countries. The sport is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale, as well as the UCIs annual World Championships for men and women, the biggest event is the Tour de France, a three-week race that can attract over 500,000 roadside supporters a day. Road bicycle racing began as a sport in 1868. The first world championship was in 1893 and cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since the sequence started in Athens in 1896. Road racing in its modern form originated in the late 19th century, the sport was popular in the western European countries of France, Spain, Belgium, and Italy. Some of Europes earliest road bicycle races remain among the sports biggest events and these early races include Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Paris–Roubaix, the Tour de France, the Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia, the Giro dItalia, the Volta a Catalunya, and the Tour of Flanders. They provided a template for other races around the world, while the sport has spread throughout the world, these historic races remain the most prestigious for a cyclist to win. Single-day race distances may be as long as 150 miles, races over short circuits, often in town or city centres, are known as criteriums. Individual time trial is an event in which cyclists race alone against the clock on flat or rolling terrain, a team time trial, including two-man team time trial, is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock. In both team and individual time trials, the start the race at different times so that each start is fair. Race distances vary from a few km to between approximately 20 miles and 60 miles, stage races consist of several races, or stages, ridden consecutively. The competitor with the lowest cumulative time to all stages is declared the overall, or general classification. Stage races may also have other classifications and awards, such as stage winners, the points classification winner. A stage race can also be a series of road races, the stage winner is the first person to cross the finish line that day or the time trial rider with the lowest time on the course. The overall winner of a race is the rider who takes the lowest aggregate time to complete all stages
2.
UCI Continental Circuits
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The UCI Continental Circuits are continental circuits for a series of road bicycle racing competitions since 2005. The five circuits are inferior to the UCI World Tour, both the World Tour and the Continental Circuits comprise a series of races in which various cycling teams compete regularly. It was introduced by the Union Cycliste Internationale to provide an adequate and realistic context in order to encourage the expansion of cycling, everywhere in the world. There is a competition for the ranking, team ranking. The rider in the first place of the ranking of the continental circuit at the end of the season will be the sacred winner of his circuit. The list shows the UCI Africa Tour champions according to the year, there is a competition for the individual ranking, team ranking and country ranking with the most points gained from winning or achieving a high place in the races. The rider in the first place of the ranking of the continental circuit at the end of the season will be the sacred winner of his circuit. The list shows the UCI America Tour champions according to the year, there is a competition for the individual ranking, team ranking and country ranking with the most points gained from winning or achieving a high place in the races. The rider in the first place of the ranking of the continental circuit at the end of the season will be the sacred winner of his circuit. The list shows the UCI Asia Tour champions according to the year, there is a competition for the individual ranking, team ranking and country ranking with the most points gained from winning or achieving a high place in the races. The rider in the first place of the ranking of the continental circuit at the end of the season will be the sacred winner of his circuit. The list shows the UCI Europe Tour champions according to the year, there is a competition for the individual ranking, team ranking and country ranking with the most points gained from winning or achieving a high place in the races. The rider in the first place of the ranking of the continental circuit at the end of the season will be the sacred winner of his circuit. The list shows the UCI Oceania Tour champions according to the year, UCI Africa Tour UCI America Tour UCI Asia Tour UCI Europe Tour UCI Oceania Tour
3.
Turin
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Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
4.
Giro d'Italia
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The Giro dItalia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except when it was stopped for the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, the Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI Proteams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers can invite. Along with the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, the Giro makes up cyclings prestigious three-week-long Grand Tours, the Giro is usually held during late May and early June. While the route each year, the format of the race stays the same. Like the other Grand Tours, the editions of the Giro dItalia normally consist of 21 day-long segments over a 23-day period that includes 2 rest days. All of the stages are timed to the finish, after finishing the riders times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race, Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali was the victor in the 2016 edition of the race. At the time La Gazzettas rival, Corriere della Sera was planning on holding a race of its own. Morgagni then decided to try and hold their race before Corriere della Sera could hold theirs, however, after the success La Gazzetta had with creating the Giro di Lombardia and Milan–San Remo, the owner Costamagna decided to go through with the idea. Their bike race was announced on August 7,1908 in the first page of that edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race was to be held in May of 1909, the idea of the race was inspired by the Tour de France and the success that LAuto had gained from it. Since the organizers lacked the funds,25,000 lire, needed to hold the race, they consulted Primo Bongrani, Bongrani proceeded to go around Italy asking for donations to help hold the race. Bongranis efforts were successful, he had procured enough money to cover the operating costs. The money that was to be out as prizes came from a casino in San Remo after Francesco Sghirla. Even Corriere, La Gazzettas rival, gave 3,000 lire to the races fund, on 13 May 1909 at 02,53 am 127 riders started the first Giro dItalia at Loreto Place in Milan. The race was split into eight stages covering 2,448 km, a total of 49 riders finished, with Italian Luigi Ganna winning. Ganna won three stages and the General Classification
5.
Strade Bianche
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The Strade Bianche, officially called Strade Bianche - Eroica Pro, is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. It has been held annually since 2007, on the first or second Saturday of March, the name Strade Bianche stems from the historic white gravel roads that are a defining feature of the race. More than 50 km of the distance are raced on dirt roads. Despite its relatively short history, the Strade Bianche has quickly gained prestige, as from 2017, the event will be included in the UCI World Tour, cyclings highest level of professional road races. It is organized by RCS Sport - La Gazzetta dello Sport, swiss Fabian Cancellara holds the record with three wins. Since 2015, an event, the Strade Bianche Donne, is held on the same day as the mens race. The event is part of the UCI Womens World Tour and is raced at approximately half the distance of the mens race, in 2007, a professional race was spun off the event, inaugurally called Monte Paschi Eroica, won by Russian Alexandr Kolobnev. The race was held on 9 October, it started in Gaiole in Chianti, organizer RCS asked local cycling icons Fiorenzo Magni and Paolo Bettini to promote the maiden event. Monte dei Paschi, the worlds oldest still-existing bank with its headquarters in Siena, in 2008 it moved to early March on the calendar, closer to the heart of the spring classics season. Swiss Fabian Cancellara won the second edition, in 2009, organizers changed the name of the race to Strade Bianche - Eroica Toscana and in 2010 to Strade Bianche. The race was also lengthened 9 km and one more gravel sector was added, in 2014, the start of the race moved to the hill town of San Gimignano. Since 2016, Siena hosts both the start and finish of the Strade Bianche, due to the nature of the race and its place on the calendar, the field is usually made up of riders taking part in Tirreno–Adriatico and Milan–San Remo. Although a young event, the race has gained the status of an instant classic, among the winners of the first ten editions feature Fabian Cancellara, Philippe Gilbert and Michał Kwiatkowski on a very international roll of honour. In 2013 Moreno Moser became only the first Italian winner of the Strade Bianche, classics specialist Cancellara is the only three-time winner of the race, earning a sector named after him. The race starts and finishes in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Siena, the route consists of 176 kilometres over hilly terrain crossing the southern Tuscan province of Siena, including nine sectors of gravel roads, totaling 52.8 km of dirt road. The finish is on Sienas illustrious Piazza del Campo, after a steep, the race is often decided on the final stretches of the race. The white gravel roads, characteristic of the Tuscan countryside, provide the character of the race. They are usually country lanes and farm tracks, called strade bianche or sterrati in Italian, twisting through the hills, the longest and most arduous sectors are the ones in Lucignano d’Asso and Asciano
6.
Piedmont
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Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.6 million, the capital of Piedmont is Turin. The name Piedmont comes from medieval Latin Pedemontium or Pedemontis, i. e. ad pedem montium, meaning “at the foot of the mountains”. Other towns of Piedmont with more than 20,000 inhabitants sorted by population and it borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Aosta Valley and for a very small fragment with Emilia Romagna. The geography of Piedmont is 43. 3% mountainous, along with areas of hills. Piedmont is the second largest of Italys 20 regions, after Sicily and it is broadly coincident with the upper part of the drainage basin of the river Po, which rises from the slopes of Monviso in the west of the region and is Italy’s largest river. The Po collects all the waters provided within the semicircle of mountains which surround the region on three sides, from the highest peaks the land slopes down to hilly areas, and then to the upper, and then to the lower great Padan Plain. 7. 6% of the territory is considered protected area. There are 56 different national or regional parks, one of the most famous is the Gran Paradiso National Park located between Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, Piedmont was inhabited in early historic times by Celtic-Ligurian tribes such as the Taurini and the Salassi. They were later subdued by the Romans, who founded several colonies there including Augusta Taurinorum, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was repeatedly invaded by the Burgundians, the Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Franks. In the 9th–10th centuries there were incursions by the Magyars. At the time Piedmont, as part of the Kingdom of Italy within the Holy Roman Empire, was subdivided into several marks, in 1046, Oddo of Savoy added Piedmont to their main territory of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry. Other areas remained independent, such as the powerful comuni of Asti and Alessandria, the County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy in 1416, and Duke Emanuele Filiberto moved the seat to Turin in 1563. In 1720, the Duke of Savoy became King of Sardinia, founding what evolved into the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Republic of Alba was created in 1796 as a French client republic in Piedmont. A new client republic, the Piedmontese Republic, existed between 1798 and 1799 before it was reoccupied by Austrian and Russian troops, in June 1800 a third client republic, the Subalpine Republic, was established in Piedmont. It fell under full French control in 1801 and it was annexed by France in September 1802, in the congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Sardinia was restored, and furthermore received the Republic of Genoa to strengthen it as a barrier against France. Piedmont was a springboard for Italys unification in 1859–1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against the Austrian Empire in 1820–1821 and this process is sometimes referred to as Piedmontisation. However, the efforts were countered by the efforts of rural farmers
7.
Vigevano
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Vigevano is a town and comune in the province of Pavia, Lombardy in northern Italy. A historic art town, it is renowned for shoemaking and is one of the main centres of Lomellina. Vigevano received the title of city with a decree of Duke Francis II Sforza on 2 February 1532. It is famed for its beautiful Renaissance Piazza Ducale in the centre of the town, the earliest records of Vigevano date from the 10th century AD, when it was a favoured residence of the Lombard king Arduin, for the sake of the good hunting in the vicinity. Vigevano was a Ghibelline commune, favoring the Emperor and was besieged and taken by the Milanese in 1201. In 1328 it finally surrendered to Azzone Visconti, and thereafter shared the fortunes of Milan. The Church of San Pietro Martire was built, with the adjacent Dominican convent, in the last years of Visconti domination it sustained a siege by Francesco Sforza. Once he was settled in power in Lombardy, Sforza arranged for Vigevano to be set up as the seat of a bishop and provided its revenues. Leonardo da Vinci was his guest at Vigevano, as was Bramante, the towns main street enters through a sham arcaded façade that preserves the unity of the space as at the Place des Vosges. Ludovico demolished the former palazzo of the commune of Vigevano to create the space, at the outside of town is the La Sforzesca, a rectangular villa-fortress with corner palace-towers, built in 1486 by Ludovico il Moro. The Cathedral was begun in 1532 under Duke Francesco II, who commissioned the design to Antonio da Lonate, the edifice was completed in 1606. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave, for centuries, the city was a manufacturing centre, especially for the silk and cotton industry. The key sector of Vigevano industry is shoemaking, handily shoemaking began to expand during the First World War and, by the 1950s, Vigevano was known as Italys shoe capital. Guido da Vigevano, physician and inventor Donato Bramante, architect and painter, Leonardo da Vinci, polymath, worked in Vigevano for Ludovico Sforza. Giovanni Peroni, industrialist, who founded Peroni Brewery in Vigevano, eleonora Duse, Italian actress, often known simply as Duse, was born in Vigevano. Vito Pallavicini, lyricist, mostly known for being one of the two writers of Azzurro, gian Carlo Rota, mathematician and philosopher, was born in Vigevano. Margie Santimaria, a professional triathlete Abramo Ardizzi, diplomat, ambassador, bishop, juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, mathematician and bishop of Vigevano. Guido Ferracin, athlete, European bantam weight boxing champion, wenzhou, Peoples Republic of China Ficarra, Italy Matera, Italy Lomellina Giedion, Siegfried
8.
Lombardy
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Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres. Milan, Lombardys capital, is the second-largest city and the largest metropolitan area in Italy, the word Lombardy comes from Lombard, which in turn is derived from Late Latin Longobardus, Langobardus, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements *langaz + *bardaz, equivalent to long beard. Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz, Lombardy referred during the early Middle Ages to the entire territory of Italy ruled by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who conquered much of the Italian peninsula beginning in the 6th century. During the late Middle Ages, the term shifted meaning and was used to identify the whole of Northern Italy, with a surface of 23,861 km2, Lombardy is the 4th largest region of Italy. It is bordered by Switzerland and by the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, three distinct natural zones can be fairly easily distinguished in the Lombardy region, mountains, hills and plains – the latter being divided in Alta and Bassa. Inconsistent with the three distinctions above made is the subregion of Oltrepò Pavese, formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River. The mighty Po river marks the border of the region for a length of about 210 km. In its progress it receives the waters of the Ticino River, the other streams which contribute to the great river are, the Olona, the Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio and the Mincio. The numerous lakes of Lombardy, all of glacial origin, lie in the northern highlands, from west to east these are Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, then Lake Garda, the largest in Italy. A minor mountainous area, the Oltrepò Pavese, lies south of the Po, in the plains, intensively cultivated for centuries, little of the original environment remains. The most commons trees are elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow, in the area of the foothills lakes, however, grow olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, acacias. Numerous species of flora in the Prealpine area include some kinds of saxifrage, the Lombard garlic, groundsels bellflowers. The highlands are characterized by the vegetation of the whole range of the Italian Alps. At a lower levels oak woods or broadleafed trees grow, on the slopes beech trees grow at the lowest limits. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summital zone, Lombardy has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to inland water basins, and large metropolitan areas. In addition, there is a seasonal temperature variation. A peculiarity of the climate is the thick fog that covers the plains between October and February. In the Alpine foothills, characterised by an Oceanic climate, numerous lakes exercise a mitigating influence, in the hills and mountains, the climate is humid continental
9.
Asti
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Asti listen is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed to be the capital of Monferrato. People have lived in and around what is now Asti since the Neolithic period, before their defeat in 174 BC by the Romans, tribes of Ligures, the Statielli, dominated the area and the toponym probably derives from Ast which means hill in the ancient Celtic language. In 124 BC the Romans built a castrum, or fortified camp, in 89 BC the city received the status of colonia, and in 49 BC that of municipium. Asti become an important city of the Augustan Regio IX, favoured by its position on the Tanaro river and on the Via Fulvia. Other roads connected the city to the passes for what are today Switzerland. The city was crucial during the stages of the barbarian invasions which stormed Italy during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In early 402 AD the Visigoths had invaded northern Italy and were advancing on Mediolanum which was the capital at that time. Honorius, the emperor and a resident in that city. However, just after his convoy had left Milan and crossed the River Po his escape route through the Alps was cut off by the Gothic cavalry and this forced him to take emergency refuge in the city of Hasta until more Roman troops could be assembled in Italy. The Goths placed Hasta under siege until March when General Stilicho, bringing reinforcements from the Rhine, fought, in the second half of the 6th century it was chosen as seat for one of the 36 Duchies in which the Lombards divided Italy. The territory of Asti comprised an area, stretching out to Albenga. This remained when northern Italy was conquered by the Franks in 774, in the late Carolingian age Asti was ruled directly by his bishops, who were the main landlords of the area. Most important are Audax and Bruningus, who moved the seat to the Castel Vecchio. The bishopric of Asti remained a powerful entity well into the 11th century, in the second half of the century, Bishop Otto tried to resist the aims of the powerful countess Adelaide of Susa, who damaged the city several times. During Ottos reign, a commune and the magistrates are mentioned for the first time. Asti was one of the first free communes of Italy, after a short siege, Asti was stormed and burnt. Subsequently, Asti adhered to the Lombard League against the German emperor, despite this, after the Peace of Constance, the city gained further privileges
10.
Fausto Coppi
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Angelo Fausto Coppi, was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions and he was an all-round racing cyclist, he excelled in both climbing and time trialing, and was also a great sprinter. He won the Giro dItalia five times, the Tour de France twice, other notable results include winning the Giro di Lombardia five times, the Milan–San Remo three times, as well as wins at Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne and setting the hour record in 1942. Coppi was one of five born to Domenico Coppi and Angiolina Boveri. Fausto was the child, born at 5,00 pm on 15 September 1919. His mother wanted to call him Angelo, but his father preferred Fausto and he was named Angelo Fausto but was known most of his life as Fausto. Coppi had poor health as a child and showed little interest in school. In 1927 he wrote I ought to be at school, not riding my bicycle after skipping lessons to spend the day riding a bike which he had found in a cellar, rusty. He left school at age 13 to work for Domenico Merlani, cycling to and from the shop and meeting cyclists who came there interested him in racing. The money to buy a bike came from his uncle, also called Fausto Coppi, was a merchant navy officer on a petrol tanker, and a real cycling fan. He was touched when he heard of my passion for the bike and decided that I deserved a real tool for the job on which I had set my heart, instead of the rusty old crock I was pushing around. I just cried with joy when my kind uncle gave me the 600 lire that were to make my dream come true, I knew from advertisements I had seen in the local papers that for 600 lire I could get a frame built to my measurements in Genoa. Out of my slender savings I took enough for the fare to Genoa and back, gave my measurements. I would have to buy the fittings and tyres from my errand-boy salary, oh how my legs used to ache at night through climbing all those stairs during the day. But Im glad I did, because it made my legs so strong. Come back within a week, your frame will be said the owner of the cycle shop. But it wasnt ready, and not the next week, for eight weeks I threw precious money away taking the train to Genoa and still no made-to-measure bike for me. The fellow just couldnt be bothered making a frame for a skinny kid who didnt look as if he could pedal a fairy-cycle
Paolo Magretti (ITA)
Rigoberto Urán (COL)![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
