Damiano Cunego Bike Competition: Cycling In The Streets Of Verona

The celebration of cycling Gran Fondo Damiano Cunego returns to Verona on June 3rd to make once again its streets and its countryside a true ode to the sport where professional and amateur riders gather to pay homage to this historical discipline and to the young Damiano Cunego, born in Cerro Veronese on 1981 and who has brought many successes and pride to its birthplace in competitions like the Junior World Championsip, several stages of the Vuelta and many other international victories alongside his Lampre team.

The Damiano Cunego marathon is the second of four races in the Unesco Cycling Tour which was born with the goal of promoting and revaluating some of the countries territories and the practice of cycling as a sustainable tourism alternative.

The competition has designed for this seventh edition once again two possible courses: the long distance one which consists of 145 km of tracks and the medium distance one that lasts for 85 km instead. This distinction is in order to allow various types of riders from all performance levels to participate and enjoy this wonderful event. With diverse lengths and difficulty degrees, the two paths have been studied to give the opportunity to the more experts ones of enjoying a demanding challenge with an overall altitude change of 3.300 meters while also allowing a completely satisfying experience to amateurs, whose still exigent path presents slopes leading to a 1.400 meters height change.

The starting point of the bike competition in 2012 has been changed to Via d’Arezzo in order to better accommodate both athletes and the organizational area. The departure point from 2011 in the city center, at the Bentegodi stadium has therefore been changed to ensure a better development of the race with less disruptions on the old city but this does not take away the appeal of the course that still includes a great track through the historical streets.

The course will take riders through slopes as popular as the ones in Volta di Erbezzo, San Rocco and Campo Fontana before taking the city center of Verona. The novelty of this year’s edition comes in the form of a new course track in the area of San Francesco, a nice descending slope to gather some breath before taking on the demanding peaks perfect for time trials.

The countryside of Verona is in fact very popular in the spring and summer months for its cycling routes because its slopes and the beauty of the area offer the right balance between athletic challenge and breathtaking scenery.

The riders that are still uncertain of what course is the most adequate for their experience level can choose in real time during the development of the race whether to choose one or the other, taking into account weather conditions too. Roads will be open to both groups up until the 62nd kilometer where after 12.45 all riders passing through Rover Veronese will be diverted to the medium distance course.

Among the prizes reserved for the winners of this competitions, one of the most important in Italy, are those in the men and women’s categories for age groups, the association prize which recognizes the society with more participants in the race and the Time Trial Berner Trophee whose competition will take place shortly after Bellori and for 10 km right up to Valico del Provalo.