It is no surprise that many riders want to win the Firenze-Viareggio, whose 79th edition as a national race for elite and under 23 categories, takes place on Saturday, August 15th, organized by the Pistoia Motorcyclists Group and Aurora (the Florence-based team celebrating 80 years since its foundation), with the main race sponsor being the Sworn Police Corps, and the patronage of the municipalities of Florence and Viareggio. The charm and beauty of the Ferragosto race have few equals, and there are several dozen athletes who, after winning this race, have gone on to become professionals, like last year's winner Tommaso Dati in 2025.

And Saturday's race can also be considered an opportunity to celebrate the festival of cycling. This time the novelty is the unprecedented route featuring the Montalbano area and the climbs of Castra and San Donato in the first 50 km, then the province of Pisa and the return to the traditional route at Lucca to tackle the Pedona climb and the technical, thrilling descent (often decisive), as well as the rough terrain. A 180-kilometer course considered more challenging on paper, but as is known, it is the riders who make the race selective or not. The starting field is of excellent quality, with the presence of a Spanish team, PC Baix Ebre Tortosa, which includes Russian athletes who love to race aggressively.

FAVORITES: Two Florentines stand out: Riccardo Lorello and Giosuè Crescioli in great form, former professional De Cassan, D'Aiuto, Fabbro, Fede, Bruno, Guerra, Palomba, Magli, Ansaloni, Anastasia, Tuscan under 23 champions Matteo Gialli and elite Lapo Matteo Bozicevich, Bonaldo, Pezzo Rosola, Buti, Russian Vadim Grechishkin first in the recent Bologna Cup at Montallese.

ROUTE: The unofficial start at 7:30 a.m. from the tower in Piazza Torquato Tasso in Florence and official start ten minutes later from Ponte a Greve, then Lastra a Signa, Empoli, Castra (km 35, 8:32 a.m.), Vinci, Fucecchio, S.Croce sull'Arno (km 70, 9:21 a.m.), Bientina, Buti, Massa Macinaia (km 116, 10:27 a.m.), Lucca (km 128, 10:45 a.m.), Montemagno, Camaiore (km 160), Pedona (km 165, 11:35 a.m.), Viareggio (Piazza Mazzini km 180, 12:00 p.m., at an average speed of 41 km/h).

HONOR ROLL: Among the most notable winners are Enzo Sacchi (the first in 1946), Ciampi, Guazzini, Zanchi, Gaggioli, Cesare Cipollini, Gotti, Fagnini, Scinto, Popovyc, Kunitski, Majka, Puccio, Masnada, and last year Dati, one of the most talented neo-professionals of the current season and Italian vice-champion.