Pozzato: «It is a very demanding sector, it could decide the fate of the race».

The preview during the VENEtoGO social ride.

Veneto Classic, act two. The race that last year debuted in the professional calendar with the victory of Samuele Battistella will return on Sunday 16 October 2022 to ride the roads that were the backdrop to the decisive moments of the first edition, between Colceresa and Bassano del Grappa, in the province of Vicenza. With an interesting novelty: PP Sport Events has inserted a dirt section of about two kilometers in the finale, with some points where the gradient reaches 18 percent. After having faced the cobbled “wall” of Tisa twice and the Rosina climb twice, the race will climb along via Canale on the heights overlooking the town of Marsan to cross the Diesel Farm estate, a suggestive green corner where the entrepreneur Renzo Rosso, founder of the Diesel brand and president of the OTB fashion group, produces high-quality wine and oil with traditional organic agronomic processes, respecting biodiversity. This section of dirt road, which also includes via Sant’Agata, will blend together the beauty of the landscape of the foothills and technical content of undoubted depth. In addition to the asphalt and the cobblestones, therefore, the typical Gravel terrain also becomes part of the menu of the race freely inspired by the routes of Flanders, organized by Filippo Pozzato with the support and collaboration of the Veneto Region and President Luca Zaia.

«I liked the idea of ​​creating a variant compared to last year’s finale, which already proved to be spectacular and challenging – explains Pozzato, general manager of PP Sport Events -. The solution came when Renzo Rosso, who is a friend and a cycling enthusiast, suggested adding the Diesel Farm hills to the altimetry. Thanks to this new dirt road, inserted a few kilometers from the finish in Bassano, we will witness an even more thrilling and uncertain race finale, to the full advantage of the spectacle and visibility for the territory. I personally tried the climb, and I can assure you that it is a sector that can decide the fate of the race".

"Diesel Farm is a little gem: five hills that I took over in the mid-nineties to prevent them from being divided into lots, and that today are not only a farm that produces organic wine and oil of the highest quality, but also a natural park open to anyone who wants to cross it on foot. Pippo is a friend with whom I share a passion for cycling and for Nature, and designing this part of Veneto Classic and VENEtoGO together was the natural consequence" is the comment of Renzo Rosso.

The first to ride the Marsan dirt road will be the participants of VENEtoGO (Saturday 15 October), the non-competitive social ride open to cycling enthusiasts, which follows the route of the second part of Veneto Classic, scheduled for the following day. The ride will start from Bassano del Grappa, and will pass through Col Roigo to Romano d’Ezzelino, Mussolente, Fonte Alto, Pagnano d’Asolo, Monfumo, Castelcucco, Pieve del Grappa and Borso del Grappa, before returning to Bassano and heading towards the grand finale with the Tisa, the Rosina, Diesel Farm (timed sections). The kilometers to be covered will be 100.

VENEtoGO members will have the opportunity to ride side by side with some champions of recent cycling history, including Fabian Cancellara and, of course, Filippo Pozzato. PP Sport Events has set a registration fee of 100 euros for those who register by 31 August. From the following day the cost for participation will be 120 euros. All participants will be given a premium race kit.

Veneto Classic and VENEtoGO are two events of the «Ride the Dreamland» project, which also includes the 85th Giro del Veneto, scheduled for October 12, and the second edition of Serenissima Gravel, scheduled for October 14.