With the 2006 Winter Olympics, Turin put its marker and rose to the world stage. The Snow Games changed the face of the Piedmont capital and set in motion the transformation of certain locations that have now become the city's international sporting symbol. Such is the case of PalaIsozaki, which hosted the Olympic ice hockey tournament and is now renamed InAlpi Arena, the highlight of the ATP Tennis Finals: nearly 16,000 seats making it one of Italy's largest sports arenas.

First skiing, then from 2021 tennis with the tournament of the world's eight best players, won by Jannik Sinner in 2024 and set to remain in Turin until at least 2027: an event that from November 9th to 16th becomes the city's most brilliant sporting postcard.

But it was cycling that over the past twenty years has consecrated the sporting spirit of Turin and Piedmont, and allowed a forward-looking perspective capable of attracting increasingly more international sponsors. The Giro d'Italia's Grand Start from Turin in 2011, coinciding with the national Alpini gathering, brought half a million people to the city: remember Contador or Nibali or Scarponi wearing the Alpini hat? And Marco Pinotti in the pink jersey awarded by Alpine mayor Sergio Chiamparino? Well, from that Giro edition to today, Piedmont has hosted 50 stages (as start and/or finish locations) of the pink race: no other region has hosted more, confirming the exponential growth of the region's interest in two-wheel racing.

Then came the great Giro finish in 2016, with Nibali raising the Trofeo senza Fine in front of Gran Madre. Another Giro Grand Start in 2021, from Piazza Castello, with Pippo Ganna winning the time trial and taking the first pink jersey, and then the tumultuous succession of events in 2024. The year of the turning point, with Regional President Cirio heavily investing in cycling. The Giro's Grand Start, once again, with one of the most intense and exciting stages, crossing Turin's hilly area, the mountain in the city, with Narvaez winning over Pogacar. Then the Tour de France, the first time starting from Italy, with Turin hosting the finish of the third stage, won by Girmay with Carapaz in the yellow jersey, and then the start of the fourth stage from Pinerolo.

And now the Vuelta, which will start from Venaria Reale and remain in Piedmont for four stages: in 15 months the Piedmont Region has hosted all three grand tours. Internationally, it's impossible to find something similar, nothing comes close to what this region, once identified only by its factories, has achieved.

Piedmont and Turin are a wonderful example of how it's possible to be an excellence in sports. This should be an example, not only for the countries watching us, but for all other Italian regions, which by following Turin's example, should start finding the strength to imitate it.