“Bringing the Olympics here? Complicated, but even the Tour de France seemed like an almost impossible dream when we started working on it, so I say: why not?” Suggestions from after the Tour, but not so imaginative for the regional councilor for infrastructure, mobility and tourism Andrea Corsini: the tandem between the regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna that brought the most important cycling race in the world to Italy is the same one that a couple of years ago launched the idea of a double Olympic Games between Florence and Bologna, with the neighboring territories in tow, including Romagna. The dream of reaching the finish line for the 2032 edition has faded, and the same goes for the 2036 event, but the success of the start of the Grande Boucle is one of those calling cards that cannot be ignored: “These are two regions – adds Corsini – that would be able to organize this event. But now let’s enjoy the Tour”.
Record induced
Beyond the book of utopias, the passage of the yellow race leaves multiple legacies to Romagna, starting with numbers never seen before. The study commissioned by the Region to measure the impact speaks of almost a million spectators attending the first two stages and 150 thousand presences registered in hotels. Added to this is «a direct induced effect of 59 million euros, of which 29 in Emilia-Romagna, plus the induced and indirect benefits at a national level for a further 47 million, with another 13 million on companies in the cycling supply chain». And it doesn’t end there: «Now this success must be capitalized – Corsini underlines – to make Romagna an even more attractive land. The recipe lies in the promotion policies and investments to strengthen the infrastructures linked to cycling tourism, a market segment that can give us great satisfaction. Many will want to return to the roads traveled in recent days by the Tour champions, a mapping could be created with an ad hoc campaign».
In the sign of the Pirate
In addition to the economic legacy, however, the Grande Boucle also leaves a moral one, and not only because, as Corsini reiterates, with perfect organization a year after the flood “Romagna has shown it can react in a big way to catastrophic events”: 20 years after his death, the homage to Marco Pantani has reverberated throughout the world a love that is destined not to die out and, indeed, is also passed down to those who had yet to be born when the Pirate flew over sharp peaks. “Marco would have been in a convertible with a yellow goatee with his arms raised to follow the race and greet his people – comments Vittorio Savini, his historic coach and founder of the Club Magico Pantani of Cesenatico -. Not even Pogacar, as great as he was, can give the spectacle that his shots offered. Marco’s memory lives on, even in children of 6 or 7 years old, as I have seen with my own eyes: it is a chain that will never break”.
Goliardy
A leap towards the future and an epic story to be treasured. In between there was all the authenticity that Romagna can offer, with a touch of goliardic humour, like that of the fan on an exercise bike on the hills of Valle del Savio, holding a pint of beer instead of the standard water bottle. The frames that captured him went viral all over the world, while the one who lowered his trousers on the Gallisterna to show the camera the part of the body that usually rests on the saddle had less luck: the French racked their brains to translate the term “pataca”.
