The happiest of all was undoubtedly Matteo Sobrero. It’s not every day that the Tour de France passes by your house, on the roads where you grew up and have always trained. The athlete from Montelupo and pride of the entire Langa cycling area, just 27 years old and in a team with captain Primož Roglič of Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, honored his debut at the Tour by making his own with a sprint and many smiles the second Grand Prix of the Mountain on the climb of Barbaresco. Or rather on the «côte de Barbaresco», where his family and many friends from the fan club were waiting and applauding him. «They will certainly have more fun than I will, I hope they open a few good bottles» Sobrero had said shortly before leaving Piacenza for the longest stage of this edition of the race, arriving in Turin after crossing the wine hills passing through Neive, Tre Stelle, Alba, Mussotto, Piobesi, Sommariva Perno and Ceresole.
A great party in yellow, an emotion for thousands of people crowded at every bend to watch the most exciting cycling race of all, with its very long and extravagant caravan. Those who stayed at home, glued to the TV screen, could not help but comment with a bit of pride: “How well the images from the helicopter of our hills are rendered, with the perfectly combed vineyards, the hilltop villages and the towers of Alba”. Even the Rai commentators did not fail to praise the landscape, the wines, the gastronomy of the Unesco landscapes, the Roero fortresses and the “23 days” of the partisans narrated by Fenoglio: “You are left speechless in front of this paradise, the most beautiful natural velodrome in the world” they said. And again: “Watching the Tour de France from the Barbaresco tower is something historic”.
The President of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio from Alba, was one of the most ardent supporters of the operation that managed to bring the Grande Boucle to Italy and Piedmont. Yesterday morning, before leaving for Turin and watching the finish of the race, he stopped for a couple of hours with regional councilor Daniele Sobrero in the Hospitality area set up in Alba in Piazza Adolfo Sarti. Then, at the end of the race, he commented: «Over 12 million people from 200 countries around the world have heard French TV praise the wine-growing landscapes of Langhe Roero and Monferrato, Barolo and Barbaresco, and the Alba white truffle. I wanted to listen to the live commentary on French networks because that is what was broadcast around the world and hearing the excellence of our land spoken of directly by their own voices is something that acquires even more credibility. Then, seeing the bikes of the world cycling champions pass through the hills of Barbaresco before those of Champagne, as an Italian, is priceless».
The mayor of Alba, Alberto Gatto, and the deputy mayor Caterina Pasini, also spent some time in the Hospitality area, and then went to watch the athletes pass through Piazza Garibaldi, among dozens of young people from the Estate Ragazzi, all dressed in yellow with Tour gadgets. “A beautiful celebration of sport and an extraordinary opportunity to promote our territories – the comment -. The Tour de France is one of the most followed sporting events in the world, behind only the Olympics, the World Cup and rugby. The organization seemed impeccable to me, I think everyone understood and tolerated the inconvenience caused by a few hours of traffic blockage”.
