On June 25th next year the time trial, most likely set in the Langhe region with start and finish in Alba. Then on June 27th the road race in the Cuneo area (there is talk of a final circuit of 60 km to be covered three times). The venues and routes of the upcoming professional Italian national championships will be officially announced in the near future, but in the meantime the confirmation that the national championship events will take place in the subalpine region, and in particular in Cuneo Province, was given this morning by the regional assessor for Sport and Tourism, Paolo Bongioanni.

The occasion for this announcement was the presentation at the Piedmont Region Skyscraper of three different cycling events that place the Cuneo area at the center of the scene, namely the two gran fondos branded "L'Étape du Tour de France" and also the final stage of the Giro d'Italia Women.

While Bongioanni emphasized the impact also from a tourism perspective of the connection with sport ("The women's Giro is one of the 17 international-caliber sporting events scheduled throughout the year in Piedmont, a territory that grows 8 percent annually in terms of tourist flows"), from Théophile Rallet, L'Étape Series Project Manager – Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), came an addition: "we are proud to collaborate with E.P.T. and ExtraGiro to further develop L'Étape Italy by Tour de France. The two events scheduled for 2026 highlight the extraordinary Italian cycling tradition and our commitment to offering authentic and high-quality experiences inspired by the Tour de France to amateur cyclists from around the world."

EPT is the acronym for Events People and Territory, an organizational hub whose stated task is to promote high value-added events for the areas that host them. It starts on 31/5 in Entracque and on 21/9 it will be Mondovì's turn. Closing with "Diablo" Claudio Chiappucci, who referring to the first of the two gran fondos sighs: "the Goderie climb, with its gravel section, is a small Colle delle Finestre with steep gradients. Don't let the name fool you, you'll need a 34-tooth chainring". If he says so...