25th GiroSardegna

When Italy’s lockdown for Covid-19 was decided in March 2020, most of the races were postponed to 2021: at that time the GiroSardegna was scheduled for the end of April with 600 entries! 

Of course I could have postponed the event to the following year; I decided instead to move it to October while giving the members the possibility to choose whether to come to Sardinia in autumn or to move to spring 2021. 

I must admit that doing the cycling week in full pandemic was not easy, but now I can proudly say that it was the right choice: we made an edition that will be UNFORGETTABLE … 

… And not just because the GiroSardegna was one of the very few cycling races held in Italy in 2020! 

… And not only for the endless problems that the organization and participants had to overcome! 

… the 2020 edition was unforgettable because it made those present savor that “atmosphere” that only those who realize they are experiencing a unique and unrepeatable thing can feel! 

Day after day, as they faced and overcome all kinds of difficulties, one could read in the eyes of ALL that pride that said “I am here: and that’s right!“ 

It would now be easy to say that all of us have shown that cycling races could and should be done and it would be easy to say that the “off season” edition of the GiroSardegna has shown how the Alghero area is PERFECT for a bike event (excellent roads and with very little traffic; various and challenging types of routes; nature of an amazing beauty and a city capable of offering major tourist attractions with splendid coastal roads in which to compete) … 

… but why not ask yourself what was in the thoughts of those who, on Friday 9 October 2020, boarded a ferry that would take them from Livorno to Sardinia? 

Certainly for none of them it was easy, but each of those who got on the ship will keep “his secret” for a long time: a photo, a video, a thought will be enough to fully and intensely relive every moment of that day and the following! 

… and why not also ask yourself what was in the organizer’s thoughts in those days? 

But I too will know how to keep the “secret” within me; I can however say that at the end of each stage I was evaluating the various aspects of the race thinking about some tweaks to make PERFECT an edition from Alghero which proved to be already excellent! 

Because I want the GiroSardegna 2021 to be SPECIAL: it will be the 25th edition of the event and being in Alghero once again is good and right: 

– but I want a bigger hotel with large spaces where we can all stay together comfortably, which gives a guarantee of quality and maximum availability to cycling needs 

– and I want a first stage that is beautiful but does not immediately create big gaps in the rankings between the participants 

– and I strongly want the two race courses (GranGiro and MedioGiro) to be authorized 

– and I want more members of the non-competitive “Tour“ and a “900 km of Sardinia” that also crosses Corsica 

– and I want to offer the FREE race fee to the 66 cyclists who on 27 April 1997 were in Quartu S.Elena at the start of the first stage of the then “Giro delle Coste della Sardegna” (… it will be a real pleasure to see people who, together with me , gave birth to a “thing” that still lasts today!) 

– and I want to give the discounted race fee of 100 euros to the 152 cyclists who on 11 October 2020 were in Alghero at the start of the first stage of the “GiroSardegna … that of Covid-19!” (… it will be a way to thank the “heroes” who had the strength to be there despite everything and everyone!) 

It is true that Covid-19 is still raging in Italy and in the world; it is true that hope in vaccines is now on high; but it is also true that it cannot be ruled out that the virus will still exist next year. 

And then, for everyone’s peace of mind, the “safety clause” is inserted in the April 2021 regulation: in case of cancellation due to force majeure, the GiroSardegna will be postponed to 10-16 October 2020. 

… but rest assured: the 25th GiroSardegna will certainly take place from 25 to 30 April 2021! 

The guarantee comes from me (that I survived the “cyclone 2020”) and from all those who have cycled to Alghero in October and who will want to do it again among the flowers and spring scents of 2021! 

But in the meantime, you ALSO write down the dates of October in the calendar: … maybe it could become an opportunity to see us again in a cycling tour in Costa Smeralda “On the roads of GiroSardegna 2022“! 

 25th november 2020

Tonino Scarpitti
President of Mare e Monti