He went all out. He went flat out. He went racing. At the banner of the final kilometer he transformed into a sprinter, a game of slipstreams and trajectories, a brush of elbows and an exploitation of wheels, a gamble of tires and above all moments—that moment when you break free into the open air, into the wind, and explode—power, watts or, more simply, desire—to cross the finish line even by a hair but ahead of everyone else. Now Moreno Di Biase continues to preach the bicycle and baptize others into cycling for different reasons, with different goals: safety, pleasure, discipline, conscience, responsibility, and always passion. Inside him, the same fire.

This is also how the fourth edition of the Trabocchi-Maiella Gran Fondo should be read and interpreted. It is not a traditional gran fondo, ready-set-go all out, but a celebration of the bicycle and cycling, an opportunity to meet and recognize one another, to try and test yourself, not only to compete and race, for families and groups, not only for clubs and teams. A cycle tour with various options, including brief timed sections. And the roads of the Trabocchi Coast, a terrace overlooking the sea, and the Maiella, a balcony on the mountain, including the staircase—always on pedals—that leads from the sea to the mountain, help you discover and enjoy.

The appointment is for Saturday, May 2nd, there are two routes, the long one of 115 km and the short one of 75 km, departure at 8:30 a.m. from Fossacesia Marina (Chieti), with opportunities for the youngest (but also for adults interested in fitness-type activities) with a free village run by Moira Life Experience, for information call 3476052565 and visit www.granfondotrabocchi-maiella.it.

Di Biase is, in his own way, a missionary: "I want to give back all the good that cycling has given me. You have to give a lot to cycling, but from cycling you can receive so much. The bicycle teaches you to be well with yourself, with others, with nature, with the world. The bicycle is a source of friendships, experiences, adventures, a factory of memories and stories, a mine of sensations. Children recognize it and show it. I notice it when they come out of school: first they hug me, then their parents."