They call it the Capital of the Marquisate and this time, on Sunday, June 7, 2026, Saluzzo will revive that title by becoming the epicenter of professional cycling. On the stage of the Olivero Theater in Cuneo, among the evocative streets of the historic center, the queen stage of the next Giro d'Italia Women takes shape well beyond the contours, admittedly sharp, traced by the skilled hand of Mauro Vegni.

The well-attended Saluzzo evening becomes a tribute to a girl from Granda capable of reaching the top of the world: there's no need for an applause meter to measure how much involvement and identification was generated in the province of Cuneo by Elisa Balsamo's world championship success in Leuven.

She, guest of honor at the vernissage, doesn't hide her emotion when images of that winning sprint at the road world championship finish line scroll across the screen: "I confess that even today I get chills when I think back to an unforgettable day, which started well and ended even better" she says after dutifully making room for nostalgia: "I started at 8 years old just a stone's throw from Saluzzo, you know, in nearby Piasco, where the country's vocation for cycling is marked and recognizable. In those years there weren't yet so many girls racing, and when I think back to my seasons as a young rider I can only recall many beautiful adventures".

Saluzzo, therefore, starting point and finish of the final and decisive stage of the Giro Women, after a loop of 146 km, with 2,200 meters of elevation gain, mostly concentrated in the first third of the race. It's Giovanni Monge Roffarello, one of the stage's promoters and cousin of Balsamo's mother, who recalls how around Christmas 2025 a holiday phone call between relatives included a mention of the Saluzzo-Saluzzo stage.

"Between cousins you can say anything, let's say I was made to understand that this won't exactly be a day dedicated to fast wheels like Elisa's... Primary needs related to the day-by-day development (June 6 arrival in Sestriere with the Colle delle Finestre included) certainly won't diminish affection and closeness toward the Cuneo champion, she who is looked upon as a reference by the young riders guided by Valter Zini, closely connected to this area thanks to the Bongioanni sponsor.

It's worth remembering, in fact, that the youngest participant in the upcoming Giro is from the Province of Granda, namely Camilla Bezzone from Sale Langhe, just 19 years old. Points of interest that fit into a palpable new prominence of the Province of Cuneo on the cycling stage, guaranteed by the cohesion of the public-private system in which these parts are masters. Events - people - territory is an organizational hub that is said to be very ambitious, ready as in this case to involve a basin of municipalities like the Terres Monviso.

Not by chance the Saluzzo-Saluzzo will be ideally and not only a tribute to the valleys that revolve around the King of Stone. Places of cycling vocation, without forgetting the charitable initiatives (partnership with the Cuneo Hospital Foundation, represented by Silvia Merlo). Let's add a happy coincidence: the new brand on the national team jersey is the Saluzzo-based E Viso. In the final photo on the stage boards of the Olivero Theater, there cannot be missing the many champions who in recent or distant times have made the fortune of Cuneo cycling, a cheerful group to which is joined - for reasons of residence - also the Turin native Italo Zilioli, as always generous with pleasant memories, with his Piedmontese understatement as if he hadn't reaped great successes and worn the yellow jersey. At that point, as someone used to say, "the curtain can close". For now...