Even though the stage was shortened, it deserves to be described the appointment 3 km from the Sestriere finish line, Borgata junction, a position decorated festively to welcome the passage of the Giro Women. And to cheer above all her, Elisa Longo Borghini, because that crowd of spectators lining the road is animated by Jacopo Mosca's fan club, on reconnaissance of the home roads for a usual training session. Waiting for his wife.

The supporters did things in grand style with gazebos and small flags, a splash of colors where the fluorescent green stands out with the inscription Alpina Piossasco. Here's the (beautiful) novelty, under the impulse of the professional rider for Lidl Trek, two historic clubs have joined forces to create a project that develops youth cycling in the territory, covering from 2027 also the youth category: "the initiative is receiving excellent feedback, there's a need to do something to provide continuity for young people approaching cycling. And it's in this direction that we've moved. Yesterday I had a lot of fun pedaling together with our boys and girls, whom I'll see again in Osasco, my hometown, at the end of July (the daughters of Paolo Longo Borghini will be there with their race numbers on their backs, editor's note), when we'll organize what has become a classic blue day" - explains Mosca, biting into - it's fitting after one of his rides - the waffles filled with Nutella prepared by the father of a small cyclist from the valley.

Which for those who don't know are succulent wafer-like treats cooked on a griddle, typical of these parts. Jacopo has already experienced a preview of the Giro Women, combining the useful (bringing Elisa's car back from Cesenatico) with the pleasant, because this meant leaving from Ornavasso and reaching the Romagna coast in the company of his lifelong friend Umberto Marengo: "after so many rides together, it was wonderful to meet up this way in a somewhat nomadic manner that I, as a road cyclist, knew less about. For a few months I had a gravel bike, we talked with Umberto and he immediately agreed to join me. It was an experience that was largely off-road and very intense, lighthearted, tackled in a spartan way with some spare parts in bags attached to the bike. In one stage there was even time for ice cream with sports director Baffi, so, under a scorching sun, we covered 310 km in the final stretch, arriving in time to attend the presentation".

Marengo adds: "I recently participated in the Traka gravel race in Girona, but then I had stepped back a bit. With Jacopo we speak the same language, we 'jogged our memories' remembering the good old days when we raced together at youth level" - explains the former professional who would have deserved to continue his career, today still involved in the sport. Getting back to the queen stage of the Giro Women, the fan club of "Gaspa" couldn't be missing, that is Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini, from None, in the Pinerolo area touched by the stage from Rivoli to Sestriere, as well as by the final act. Dad Sergio and mom Simona? Present and emotional, the same will happen in Saluzzo, without risk of avalanches.