The Giro del Veneto professional race returns to Monte Berico. After hosting the finish line in Verona in 2025, with the start in Piazza dei Signori in Vicenza, the classic born in 1909 reverses course and returns to Vicenza for a finale that will replicate the 2024 finish: five laps of the Colli Berici and the finish halfway up the climb leading to the sanctuary.

The 89th edition will be held on Wednesday, October 14. The organization is by PP Sport Events of Filippo Pozzato, who took over and revived the oldest Veneto race in 2021, following an eight-year interruption. That time the Giro del Veneto concluded in Prato della Valle in Padua, while in the three subsequent years the classic has arrived in Vicenza. Verona, which last year hosted the victory of Isaac del Toro, will host the start this year.

At Sant'Agostino, riders will enter the proven 15-kilometer circuit, with passages through Monte Berico, Santa Margherita and via Pila. After completing the five laps, they will sprint at the beginning of the viale 10 Giugno straightaway, where New Zealander Corbin Strong celebrated in 2024 and Frenchman Dorian Godon the year before. The choice not to position the finish line in front of the Monte Berico sanctuary is driven by the desire not to exclude sprinters from the final contest. As for climbers, in the preceding kilometers they will find gradients suitable for launching their attacks.

On the morning of October 14, Veneto Women will be held, the women's version of the Giro del Veneto, which debuted last year with the victory of Silvia Persico. Same start and finish as the men's race, but with two laps of the circuit to complete.

On Sunday, October 18, professionals will return to race the roads of the Vicenza province with the sixth edition of Veneto Classic. In this case, the novelties concern only the starting location: no longer Soave as last year, but rather Cittadella. The second part of the route will replicate the 2025 layout. The race will pass through Sandrigo, Breganze, Fara, tackle the cobbled climb of the Tisa at Colceresa for the first time, then twice the Rosina circuit between Marostica and Bassano, then another five times the Tisa and the Diesel Farm hill. Contrada Soarda will be the last climb before entering Bassano, with the now traditional finish in Piazza Libertà, where last year Norwegian Sakarias Koller Løland beat Florian Vermeersch and Diego Ulissi in a sprint. The Tisa Party is also confirmed this year, with music, catering and giant screens to follow the race live. This year's novelty: in the morning, the "wall" of Colceresa will see amateur cyclists compete in an explosive time trial climb.

This year too, various World Tour teams will line up at the start of Veneto Classic. Filippo Pozzato's hope is to see Isaac del Toro in action on the hills of the Bassano area, the "vice-Pogacar" of UAE Emirates, who last year packed his bags after winning the Giro del Veneto.

from Il Giornale di Vicenza