Passing the old Verzuolo paper mill, you encounter the roundabout at the beginning of the Piedmontese, Cuneo-based Val Varaita and the sign for Colle dell'Agnello, well-known to cyclists. Another sign catches the eye, Piasco, which is actually a true "cantera" of pedaling, an epicenter of passion for two wheels and youth activity, not without a magical moment experienced by the cyclists of the Saluzzo valley.

Nothing happens by chance, and the pride in the World Tour promotion of local Piasco native Pietro Mattio, with Visma Lease a Bike, goes hand in hand with the awareness that this is not just a single swallow that doesn't make a spring: without taking anything away from "Pirro's" recognized stature, when you add an emerging junior like Pietro Solavaggione and Thomas Bernardi (not forgetting Tommaso Quaglia, who lives 7 km from Piasco), there's substance here: a special rootedness.

Indeed, in this village of 2,700 inhabitants (known for harp production), there are actually two cycling societies, which merged for junior activities, while proceeding independently with youngest, beginner, and junior categories. And so, not just in terms of federal affiliation codes, there are actually three youth associations: a record!

"There's no boastfulness in having an external recognition as a reference point on a provincial and regional scale. Here in Piasco, things are done seriously but without improper grandiosity: all efforts are oriented towards spreading the 'gospel' of cycling, starting from the playful dimension and moving to older children," comment Silvio Mattio and Bruno Salvatico, deus ex machina of Vigor and Esperia respectively.

Sipping coffee inside Pietro's father's shop on a Saturday morning following a night snowfall, the two managers recall: "We were right here in the parking lot when we decided to sign an agreement for juniors, moving beyond rivalries that are anyway mitigated when everyone knows each other and works for a common interest."

They speak the truth, it's not a sugar-coated vision. Esperia (founded in 1972), which celebrated its fifty years by organizing a perfect Italian championship, has hosted riders like Jacopo Mosca and before him Davide Perona, among others. At Vigor (founded in 1992, taking over the banner of a historic Turin team), which launched Elisa Balsamo, they proudly claim that out of 200 registered members, 78 are minors: "It's fundamental to have a bike park, frequented by 80 athletes, and to guarantee continuous road activities. Pietro? He raced with us since junior years, but I'd like to remember his brother Giosuè, who dedicated himself to studies and is now an industrial engineer, who also had a nice youth career." Silvio Mattio, accompanied by well-known faces like ex-professionals Mikulà Dematteis, a true Occitan, and Marco Osella, now in entrepreneurial activities, emphasizes shifting focus to the overall involvement guaranteed by their team.

That shop is another piece that contributes to making Val Varaita a mature ecosystem for cyclists. Salvatico deserves recognition for his collaborative spirit and a vision based on the importance of creating an academy. "We know how promotional days can help, and a big thanks goes to our passionate sports directors. Handling youngest categories, ensuring continuity in subsequent categories, and organizing competitions even at the junior level are seemingly divided commitments, certainly demanding, but we're talking about a continuing activity that doesn't proceed in isolated compartments. At Esperia, it works this way - everyone has equal dignity."

Pietro Mattio's rising trajectory serves as inspiration, as it couldn't be otherwise. His double participation in under-23 world championships perfectly captures Pirro's reliability as a team player - for references, ask world champion Lorenzo Finn. Solavaggione and Bernardi, united by their membership in a top-tier team like Giorgi, could only have been formed in Piasco. The 2008 class from Rossana (5 km from Piasco, a Vuelta passage site), who entered the Cannibal Victorious Under 19 Development ranks, close to Bahrain, certainly didn't struggle in his first year. Solavaggione (4 wins, 4 seconds, and two thirds) will train with the most mountainous of the trio of talents expressed within just over 20 km. With Thomas Bernardi, chosen by the Spanish Caja Rural's development team, one goes up to Sampeyre, Dematteis' hometown. The climbing specialist has four 2025 victories (at Ghisallo and in the Valle Grana near home).

In Val Varaita, thinking about the 2,744-meter border pass inevitably leads to dreaming of passing through during a Grand Tour: when the Tour passed through in 2011, Pietro Mattio was 7, Solavaggione 3, Bernardi 4. Yesterday and today, cycling in Piasco is a concrete reality, also in the future projection of the local talents.