A few days have passed since the conclusion of the Six Days of Roses in Fiorenzuola, and with pedals at rest, tuttobiciweb caught up with Claudio Santi, who, together with the group of volunteer enthusiasts from ASD Florentia, organizes the event, to ask for an assessment of the event. Many topics were discussed, here are the reflections of the experienced organizer.

POSITIVE BALANCE. "The balance is positive, the six days of races went extremely well, and several factors were crucial to this success. During the races, we had no falls or injuries; the weather was favorable, and the races took place without excessive heat. We had a numerous and qualified participation with athletes from all over the world. The success was made possible by all the people who committed themselves to allow athletes to compete - and pay attention, I'm not referring only to those who are part of the ASD Florentia organizational team, but to all people who, in various roles, put themselves at the service of athletes. They are the true protagonists of the event. Finally, thanks to our supporters: the success is also merit of this group of friends who have been by our side for twenty-eight years. As always, when an event goes so well, the bar is raised and it's complicated to repeat, but I'm sure that with help we'll succeed".

CHANGING THE FORMAT: FROM 6 DAYS TO GRAND PRIX. "Modifying the format from 6 days to Grand Prix was fundamental for us: this way we had more than 150 athletes on the track, of whom 85 were girls, whereas with the 6 days we would have had a limited number of couples racing. Add that the races awarded ranking points that athletes need for qualification to events like world championships and Olympic games, and it's easy to understand how enormous the difference in favor of the new format is".

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUOUS RENEWAL. "Renewing is the secret of every company and life. Innovating our event was important to keep up with the times and, to use cycling jargon, 'not lose the race'. The traditional 6 days have enormous problems. I invite you to reflect: Berlin is run in two days while Munich, Grenoble, and Paris no longer exist. There's no 6 days calendar anymore. The reasons? Certainly multiple, one certainly being the change in cycling".

BEYOND GENDER EQUALITY. "An important figure that fills us with pride, as I said before, is the number of female athletes: 85 compared to 65 men. This is also indicative of cycling's change. Twenty years ago, we would never have thought of racing with more than 20 women and more than 40 men".

ATHLETES' MEMORIES AND EMOTIONS. "The hope and objective of our group is to leave athletes with memories and emotions: I consider them as precious as jewels, more than medals and victories. This obviously applies to us organizers too, and once the race days are concluded, memories remain in everyone's mind and heart. If, returning from Fiorenzuola, they take home memories and emotions, we have achieved our goal".

TOWARDS 2029 AND THE 100 YEARS OF THE VELODROME. "Our objective is 2029. In these years we will work to celebrate the hundred years of a Velodrome that on October 17, 1929 saw Girardengo win, that has seen Coppi, Bartali, Coblet, Bugno, Hoy, and many other boys and girls race, up to today. Already soon there will be a leadership change and we will design the next edition of the event with Luca Taranti, who has a firm hand and the right age to do so. I cannot say how the 2026 edition will be, but I almost know what we'll do in four years. The main objective, I repeat, is to celebrate the hundred years of the Attilio Pavesi Velodrome".

OUTDOOR AND INDOOR VELODROMES. "In its history, the Pavesi Velodrome has gone through several difficult moments: wars, the track crisis in the '70s, and recent years where it seemed velodromes should only be indoors. In reality, indoor velodromes are experiencing a terrible global crisis regarding the maintenance of international activities in outdoor velodromes. Just consider that international Class 1 races in Europe take place on outdoor tracks like Fiorenzuola, Pordenone, Dublin - just to give some examples - while in indoor velodromes, races are almost never held, except for world championships. The motivation is very simple: outdoor velodromes are more manageable and less expensive. The Pavesi Velodrome in Fiorenzuola has had many certain end dates, but the end was never seen. On the contrary, in the recent Six Days of Roses, a sea of participants and enthusiasts was seen".