Double Tour de France victory, double centenary to celebrate. The celebrations initiated last year by the Ottavio Bottecchia Cultural Association continue, honoring cycling and the epic achievements of the legendary Botescià, winner of the French grand tour in both 1924 and 1925. As Il Popolo, the Pordenone newspaper, recalls, and as can be learned from the social media profiles of the association presided over by Professor Maurizia Blam, a new series of commemorative initiatives will kick off during the Giro d'Italia opening weekend.

Saturday, May 10th at 4 PM, the Journey Through Time in Portus Naonis will start from the Pordenone velodrome, named after Ottavio Bottecchia: vintage bicycles and bikes from before 1943, riders in period cycling attire, will animate the historic city center of the Friulian town. The same day, at 6 PM, at Palazzo Gregoris, the exhibition 100 Times Bottecchia: Bicycle History, from Draisine to Ottavio Bottecchia's Epic will reopen (until June 8th), where bicycles and cycling materials from 1850 to the 1930s will blend with historical artifacts directly linked to the legendary Veneto-Friulian champion. Alfredo Azzini, president of the Italian Bicycle Association, will inaugurate the exhibition, and on this occasion, journalist Claudio Gregori and Pordenone artist Stefano Jus will preview an "artistic re-edition" of Gregori's book Orlando's Horn: Life, Death and Mysteries of Ottavio Bottecchia.

The next day, Sunday 11th, at 9 AM, Bimbimbici will begin (in collaboration with FIAB Pordenone aruotalibera): vintage cyclists, cycling historians, and the creator of L'Eroica, Giancarlo Brocci, will meet children and cycle together, combining history and the joy of cycling from a young age.

In the first weekend of June, the week after the Giro's conclusion, there will be a three-stage ride Let's Go... on Bottecchia's Roads: enthusiasts on bikes from the 1920s and 1930s, in strictly period attire, will pedal on Ottavio's roads: Friday 6th from Pordenone velodrome to San Vito al Tagliamento; Saturday 7th from San Vito to Gemona del Friuli; Sunday 8th from Gemona to the Peonis memorial, where Bottecchia met his mysterious death in 1927.

On June 8th, the 100 Times Bottecchia ride will feature a thirty-kilometer route on bicycles from before 1897 and historic buses, traversing the legendary cyclist's life locations: his birthplace in the Treviso province, the roads where he trained, his tomb with a solemn commemoration, and the museum dedicated to him.

And the events don't stop there: a Free Gravel ride, a "yellow dinner", and other surprises are in the works: for info and potential costs, check the social media channels and official website of the Ottavio Bottecchia Cultural Association.