For decades, the Neri Sottoli company has associated its brand with the Gran Premio Larciano, but now it has decided to end its sponsorship of the professional cycling event: this was announced by Stefano Baronti, who together with his brother Alessio runs the Tuscan company, through his social media profile.

A lengthy message in which the 1980-born executive motivates and analyzes the decision while not hiding emotions and memories. A statement that is also a reflection on the cycling movement.

Baronti explains that he met with the leaders of the Unione Ciclistica Larcianese to explain to them, also through detailed documents, the decision of the company management.

"For some, this choice may seem like an abandonment. For others, it might even appear as a betrayal towards a race to which my family and Neri Sottoli have been linked for over thirty-five years. But the reality is exactly the opposite. It is my family and my company that suffer most from this decision. It deeply pains us not to have been able to continue something that my father Giuliano cared deeply about. And it is right that this moment also represents an opportunity for self-criticism: I do not think that responsibilities are always and only those of others. We too must ask ourselves whether, over the years, we could have understood certain changes earlier, communicated better, or had a different impact" writes Stefano, who then emphasizes how the Gran Premio Larciano is an integral part of his family's history and recalls personal memories linked to the race.

The Pistoia-based entrepreneur clarifies that the decision is not sudden but the result of a long process. "Today's choice does not stem from a bad day, from a discussion, from an economic problem or from a request for more publicity"

And further: "Over time I have seen the GP Larciano change. The relationship with the town of Larciano has changed, with the public, with local sponsors and with volunteers. The very way of understanding the event has changed. The U.C. Larcianese is now part of the Professional Cycling League, a system that entails constraints, obligations, protocols and increasingly greater external conditioning. In the past, the main decisions were made in Larciano, within the U.C. Larcianese, starting from the needs of the race, the town, the volunteers and the companies that supported it. Today, an increasing part of the priorities depends instead on the League, on national circuits, on rankings, on institutional agreements and on the needs of subjects external to the local reality".

Baronti makes room for memories and then clarifies that: "the Unione Ciclistica Larcianese has the right to choose its own path and pursue it. But I and my company have the same right to acknowledge that that path no longer corresponds to our idea of the GP Larciano"

Subsequently, the manager continues his analysis: "The problem is a structure that has become increasingly complex, increasingly less autonomous and increasingly difficult to sustain. Sometimes you must have the courage to change direction before reaching a point of no return. This is the meaning of my choice: to distance myself from a direction that I believe is wrong, before it can produce irreversible consequences for the event"

What future then for the Gran Premio Larciano? Stefano Baronti also addresses this issue, assuring that: "For the sole edition on Sunday, September 6, 2026, Neri Sottoli will guarantee the U.C. Larcianese the same economic contribution as in previous years, but will completely renounce any form of advertising".

No Neri Sottoli logo therefore: "All spaces previously occupied by Neri Sottoli will remain free and can be made available to other companies interested in entering and investing in the event".

The Tuscan executive closes his post with words of gratitude mixed with regret: "As a child who grew up alongside the GP Larciano, the last thing I would want to see is its end... With sorrow, but also with utmost sincerity!".