2022 Giro-E route is unveiled

A fascinating journey that from 10 to 29 May will cross Italy alongside the Corsa Rosa

The route of the 2022 Giro-E 2022 was unveiled today in Milan, at the BIT – Borsa Internazionale del Turismo, in Fiera Milano City, in the presence of Manlio Messina, Councilor for Tourism, Sport and Entertainment of the Regione Siciliana; Alberto Cardillo, Head of the Regione Siciliana Sports Department; Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sport; Sandro Pappalardo, director of the Board of Directors of ENIT; Fabio Mancuso, Mayor of Adrano; Roberto Salvador, Giro-E Director.

The Giro-E, the only international multi stage event for electrically assisted bicycles, will start for the third time in Sicily. In 2018 the pre-launch edition started from Catania, in 2020 the second edition took off from Caltanissetta and in 2022, its fourth edition will kick off from Adrano, in the metropolitan province of Catania.

The UNESCO Heritage Treasures of Beautiful Catania will also host the debut of EXPO-E, the latest initiative linked to the Giro-E, a sustainable mobility fair that will accompany cyclists on their way up the Italian Peninsula.

For the fourth year Enel X is the Giro-E title sponsor.

The Route

THE ROUTE

Giro-E will take place across 18 stages, between 10 and 29 May. The 1,025 kilometer stage race will average 57 kilometers per stage with a total of 24,780 meters of vertical elevation, averaging over 1,350 meters per stage.

This edition will be a particularly demanding Giro-E in terms of climbs. It will be a great experience for participants and a tough test for both e-bikes and e-bike engine manufacturers. In total there will be five stages with a vertical elevation of over 2,000 meters. Stage 6, the Orsegna-Blockhaus, will exceed 3,000 meters of vertical elevation. Four stages are classified with four stars and two with five stars, including the summit finish atop Blockhaus, Aprica (Sforzato Wine Stage).

As in 2021, there will be a time trial (Stage 18, the final stage taking place in Verona) while Stage 16, Kobarid- Santuario Castelmonte, will start from Slovenia. The shortest stage will be Stage 17, a time trial at 4 kilometers long. The longest stage totalling 96.4 kilometers is Stage 7, Civitanova Marche-Jesi.

The Giro-E is an e-bike experience that takes place on the roads of the Giro d’Italia, with the exception of the towns hosting the start of each stage. It offers participants all the emotions of the Corsa Rosa, from the signature podium at the start, the official jerseys and the awards ceremony. Hospitality is reserved after the finish and participants have the unique opportunity to ride alongside cycling legends, champions of other sports or managers of the bike industry.

This year’s edition features EXPO-E, an e-bike fair of micro-mobility, sustainability and respect for the environment that is linked to Giro-E and will animate the weekend in Catania, Naples, Turin, Verona. Among its purposes, EXPO-E will promote the use of electric bikes in daily life and contribute to reducing fossil fuel consumption and pollution.

Giro-E will also be linked to Ride Green, a sustainability project born in 2016 to reduce the effects of the journey of the Corsa Rosa on the territory, through correct management of waste flows by using a traceability system. With the help of over 200 volunteers, numerous local companies and coordinated by the E.R.I.C.A. cooperative, the waste produced in the various locations touched by the Giro d’Italia is collected in special ecological islands and sent for recycling, where it will be transformed into secondary raw material and put back into the production cycle. In addition to the separate waste collection, the Corsa Rosa green project operates on two other channels, education with BiciScuola and sustainable mobility with the Giro-E.

Quotes

Nello Musumeci, President of the Regione Siciliana: “The Sicilian government has always bet, with conviction, on the combination of sport and tourism. With Il Giro di Sicilia, which starts today, the Giro d’Italia and the Giro-E, spring is the season of great cycling on the island. The three major international events, strongly desired and realized with the collaboration of RCS Sport, in addition to attracting many fans, constitute unique opportunities for a return of image and tourism promotion. Thanks to these events we further enhance small and large centers of Sicily, making our region appreciated all over the world and, often, giving the possibility to discover the lesser known places. We continue, finding an ever greater appreciation, to bring to the attention of the general public the historical, architectural and landscape beauties of this land, rich in ‘treasures’ kept between the sea and inland areas, giving impetus to the tourist economy and its induced “.

Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sport: “This is a fantastic route. The Giro-E Grande Partenza from Sicily for the third time is a special edition, which on the one hand testifies to the relationship between RCS Sport and the Sicilian Region and on the other, reaffirms the importance of sport as a means of communication to promote the territory. Not forgetting our commitment to the protection of the planet, which translates into the seventh edition of Ride Green, a project of great importance for our entire Group and which aims to transfer sustainable culture “.

Manlio Messina, Councilor for Tourism, Sport and Entertainment of the Regione Siciliana: “The Giro-E testifies the attention of the Musumeci government to the development of new tourist segments. Sicily is a candidate to be a paradise for all cyclists, not only for the athletes of competitive competitions that give our island the limelight of the great international stages. We propose ourselves as a land to explore, full of places to discover by pedaling between the sea and the mountains, perhaps even in the saddle of pedal assisted bicycles, vehicles that are perfectly suited to the discovery of our varied and surprising territory with its traditions, its culinary specialties and its uniqueness. Sports tourism is an area in which we deeply believe. We work to make the ‘Universe of Sicily’ more and more attractive!”.

Augusto Raggi, Head of Enel X Italy: “The Giro-E is a winning example for the country because it brings the values of sporting competition and sustainability to the territory, a combination that pushed us four years ago to embark on this journey alongside the manifestation. Today we are renewing our collaboration because we want to make people aware of Enel X’s commitment to the development of energy efficiency and electrification of consumption solutions and services throughout this competition.”

Giorgio Palmucci, president of ENIT: “Retrieve and grasp traditions in a capillary way, right into the connective tissue of the Italian Peninsula. A development strategy that finalizes the protection and innovative revival of places, memories, knowledge and craftsmanship that make our country a circuit of widespread extraordinary. Cycle tourism, with its echo that comes from afar, is essential in the growth of future years. Tourist Italy that invests in sustainability cannot miss such a crucial, historical and opinion marker event as the Giro Italia also in the participatory formula of Giro-E which enhances the territories and their slow knowledge. ENIT supports the values and promotion of cycle tourism and encourages the discovery of lesser known places in Italy from the satisfying perspective of the bike. Over the years, visitors from neighboring countries and the US have already shown that they prefer the Peninsula from the view “from the saddle.” With the pandemic, a naturalistic and active approach to travel has been strengthened and the sale of tour packages dedicated to biking is on the rise. in Italy. Pedaling becomes almost a symbolic form of positive and winning reaction to the events of recent years and to the current contingency, to go and look forward “.

Roberta Garibaldi, ENIT CEO: “Partnership with major sporting events is an important tool for marketing in Italy. This is especially true for events such as the Giro d’Italia which are a piece of our national identity: an event that enhances the territories and is able to speak to audiences that are particularly interesting for us. In fact, we want to work on cycle tourism and on all those slow tourism that can enhance the lesser known places and the innermost Italy. It is in fact an event capable of producing important impacts in terms of visibility of the host territories, thanks to the reach of international broadcasters. Together with the Giro d’Italia, we can build a unique and coherent message to tell a country founded on the plurality and openness of its landscapes, its cultures and its people, where playing sports in a unique environment is an experience for everyone “.

Roberto Salvador, Director of the Giro-E: “The start of the Giro-E 2022 will be under the banner of Sicily. The metropolitan city of Catania will host the team presentation event in the city center on 9 May, while the start of the first stage will be from Adrano on 10, and all this in the context of the first appointment with EXPO-E. The relationship with the territory has become increasingly close from edition to edition. This year the cities of departure will be even more involved, because we have created a contest in which residents can participate through an application that will evaluate the sustainability of their travel, in the name of an increasingly green Giro-E“.

THE PARTNERS

Enel X Title sponsor and Maglia Viola; ENIT Maglia Arancio; Trenitalia Maglia Verde-Ride Green; Intimissimi Uomo Maglia Bianca; Ente Turismo Sloveno Maglia Pistacchio; ACI Maglia Rossa; Toyota Official Car Sponsor; Tissot Official Time Keeper; Yamaha Official Scooter Partner; NamedSport Official Nutrition Sponsor; Lauretana Official Water Partner; Bianchi Official E-Bike Partner; Castelli Official Jersey Partner; Shimano Official Technical Partner; Astoria Official Wine Partner; Lollo Official Coffee Supplier; Iveco BUS Official Bus Partner; San Gabriel Official Beer.