Giro-E Enel 2025 – Stage 3 Pompeii – Naples

It didn’t happen last year, when Stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia began in Pompeii and finished in Cusano Mutri, but this year Giro-E Enel did have the pleasure, as well as the honour, of starting a stage from this wonderful place not far from Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii? What else do we need to say? It’s one of those places you have to visit at least once in your lifetime, perhaps with Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii playing in the background – one of those things you have to listen to at least once. What can be said about today’s Stage 3? The low-altitude route was tough for the cyclists, as on the flats e-bikes’ motors stop working when you go above 25 km/h – and the group had no intention whatsoever of staying below that speed. The good news is that for the Giro’s professionals, today’s stage began in Potenza and was the longest of this 108th edition, at a whopping 227 kilometres.

A host of celebrities turned up today, attracted by Pompeii, the beauty of today’s stage and the power of Giro-E Enel’s communication.

In the morning, Prince Albert of Monaco was greeted by the mayor of Pompeii and then visited the archaeological site. Andrea Abodi, Minister of Sport and Youth, rode with the Italia.it team: it was his third stage with Giro-E, the first outside Rome. There was also great interest in Mission Impossible’s Daily Team. That’s right, like the film.

A spectacular announcement of the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – the eighth chapter of the saga, from 22 May in Italian film theatres – was made by a very special team: captain Marco Melandri, former motorcycle road racing world champion in the 250cc division in 2002, Desirée Popper, actress and model starring in the TV series Mare Fuori, Simone Ruzzo and Gianluca “Fru” Colucci, members of the comedy group The Jackal, Andrea Lo Cicero, aka “The Baron”, legendary left prop of the Italian National Rugby team with 103 appearances. The good news is that the mission was… possible: they all crossed the finish line.

The Pompeii–Naples stage

We’ve told you about the start. The stage finish held no surprises, in a good way: it was in Naples, after a flat 87-kilometre route that was tiring of course, but also absolutely stunning thanks to its landscape (shame about the rain from Afragola, but that’s a minor detail). The finish line was equally breath-taking: along the Caracciolo seaside, surrounded by the Gulf of Naples.

For the record, it was the 46th stage finish in Naples in the history of the Giro d’Italia. In 2022 Thomas de Gendt won, in 2023 it was Mads Pedersen, and last year Olav Kooij. The Stage 6 of the 1952 Giro was instead the 500th: the stage finish was in Naples, and the winner was Rik Van Steenbergen. Small, exquisitely meaningless facts that provide a bit of context to the event.

Personality of the day – Lello Ferrara

It’s his home stage so how could it be a normal stage? Of course it can’t, if you’re Lello Ferrara! As captain of the Italia.it team at Giro-E Enel for the third year in a row, Lello has become part of the show. “One could say that I am to Giro-E Enel what the Caravan is to the Giro d’Italia. It’s thrill a minute!” Today a spontaneous celebration took place along the route. “We went through the gates of Saint Peter, my neighbourhood, in Naples, and my mother, sisters and friends threw a surprise party. It was great!” Lello is always in a good mood and always making funny remarks, yet as a captain he is very professional and masterfully guides his guests through the Giro-E experience. “What I like most is that relationship with the guests. When they come to cycle, they experience something that is so different from their everyday lives as well as the best form of cycling, the one that appeals to the professionals of the Giro d’Italia. It’s very light-hearted because people have a laugh when they’re around me. It’s always a lot of fun!”

Major events and youth: Ginosa ANCI Talk follow-up

The second Giro-E ANCI Talk was held in Ginosa on Wednesday 14 May, reaffirming the National Association of Italian Municipalities’ commitment to promoting youth participation and sustainable local development, in this case through sports events.

Indeed, the aim of these ANCI Stakeholder Forums, which are part of a programme of activities financed by the National Fund for Youth Policies, is to use sport and its values to improve the long-term impact of a major sporting event.

The Ginosa Talk – held in the Green Fun Village hospitality area – was entitled “Giovani, mobilità sostenibile e percorsi di cittadinanza attiva” [Youth, sustainable mobility and active citizenship programmes]. Many concrete ideas were put forward on how bicycles – as tools to promote health, mobility and exploration – can play a central role in new municipality-run projects, creating jobs and boosting tourism.

During the Talk – which was opened by Vito Parisi, mayor of Ginosa and national ANCI vice-president, delegate for local public transport, urban traffic and mobility – administrators, experts and institutional representatives shared their experiences on topics such as local youth policies, integrated mobility, civic participation and the educational role of sport.

One of the themes that emerged was the importance of creating spaces and tools to engage young people in small municipalities, fostering identity and active listening.

The initiative, like the one which took place the day before in Ostuni, was organised by the national ANCI in collaboration with the Technical Scientific Committee “Pedalare per viaggiare” [Pedalling to travel] of ANCI Puglia and the municipality of Ginosa. It is part of the programme backed by the National Fund for Youth Policies.

The next talk will be held in Camerino on Saturday 17 May at 12:45.

For more details and to sign up for the Stakeholder Forums, click here.

Stage 4 is Celano-Tagliacozzo on Friday!

You can find the Giro-E standings here.