A grand celebration took place last weekend (June 26-27-28) for the Mogast clan: a cycling event that has reached its tenth anniversary.

Born as an impromptu challenge among a handful of friends, the event has grown to attract 137 participants in this edition: 96 Germans, 16 Italians, 13 Swiss, 6 Americans, 4 French, and 2 Dutch, gathered around Casa Natura in Sernio, the beating heart of the event.

These numbers are complemented by a large contingent of organizers, volunteers, friends and sponsors that brought attendance at Saturday's dinner — organized in collaboration with the Pizzocchero Academy — to nearly 200 people.

Born from the ambition to climb three celebrated local geographical landmarks — Mortirolo, Passo Gavia and Stelvio — Mogast has evolved over time, becoming a three-day gathering centered on cycling, music, gastronomy and the pleasure of being together. The result of the event is almost the arithmetic sum of Valtelline's excellences and the art of living brought by the Berlin component of the organizing group.

Precisely the Berlin crew's attention to inclusion, including gender-related issues, led to this year's novelty: a dedicated entry contingent for women and FLINTA individuals. A measure that, combined with respect policies built over the years, has led to a significant increase in female participation: 27 cyclists at the start.

Two routes are available: alongside the road route is a gravel variant that includes the climb of Passo Verva, passing through Arnoga, the Cancano Lakes and the Stelvio.

The Media Valtellina Tourism Consortium, the reference body for the Sondrio Province's cycle tourism project, has always followed this event with great attention: the gravel route is among those the Consortium intends to promote and enhance as a strategic connection between the high and low valley routes.

Mogast is now preparing for its eleventh edition, maintaining its original formula: contained numbers and growing attention to the female component, which today already represents 30% of participants.