Twenty-two junior teams including nine from Tuscany (only Team Fortebraccio is missing) with 144 athletes, will compete on the first Sunday of March in the prestigious Gran Premio Giuliano Baronti organized in Cerbaia di Lamporecchio by Team Franco Ballerini. A national race that, given the challenging course chosen this year and judged by all to be demanding, immediately proposes a technical challenge of interest in the presence of the national team coach Dino Salvoldi.

A seasonal debut - valid as the first round of the Oscar tuttoBICI Gran Premio UAE Emirates - for which it is difficult to make a prediction as it will depend on the fitness level of individual athletes and many of these will be making their debut in the category. The course features 8 laps of 12.100 km with the climb of "Caloria" in the via Stradella area in Larciano and the ascent towards Montevettolini from via delle Pietraie 15 km from the finish. The climb has been renamed the "Muro di Pietrone" to remember Pietro Marradini, a well-known sports figure in the area linked to Neri Sottoli, a company that will award a special prize to whoever passes first at the top of the climb, just as the Pietro Marradini Trophy is planned for the winner of the mountain classification. The total distance of the race is 123 kilometers with the start at 2 p.m. from Neri Sottoli in via Amendola in Cerbaia, and the finish around 5 p.m. Also at stake is the Coppa Comune di Larciano which will be awarded to the winner of the final classification of the intermediate sprints scheduled for the second, fourth, sixth and eighth passage from the finish area, during the twelve-kilometer laps that will make up three quarters of the race. Another major novelty of the Gp Giuliano Baronti, remembered and honored appropriately in a commendable manner by his sons Alessio and Stefano and by the entire Pistoia-based company, will be a place of great celebration, folklore and charm, with the race being broadcast on a delayed basis for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. on Rai Sport Channel 58 on Sunday evening.

MAIN ENTRIES: In the race the best of youth cycling aged 17 and 18 years starting with the current Italian Champion, Lazio's Vincenzo Carosi of Team Coratti, Fedrizzi, Ferraro, Campagnolo, Paris, Zago, Vesco, Alessiani, Piffer, Aglialoro, Pierotto, Rossetto. A strong group also among the athletes competing for Tuscan teams who will try to achieve success in Cerbaia, from Gaggioli to Menici, Bonciani, Cascione, Cianti, Fabbri, Tarallo, Parigi, Agnini, Spanio, Favilli, Roggi, Kolarski, Luci.