Gentlemen Mayors of Romagna, it pains us to say it, but for some time now a part of you has decided to "pedal" yes, but against cycling!

Your statements in support of young people and their proper education, road safety, promotion of territories through sporting events, the environment and the use of bicycles are commendable, and much more besides, but then, surprisingly, you approve "Local Police Service Regulations" in which Agents deployed to oversee the passage of riders must be paid by the organizers. And if they don't pay, Agents are not provided unless requested by the Provincial Public Safety Authority.

Not quite in harmony with the renewed Article 33 of the Constitution which states: "The Republic recognizes the educational, social and psychophysical well-being promotion value of sporting activity in all its forms". And this is because in your "regulations" cycling races are not, in principle, considered "activities of public interest", but rather private initiatives driven by private parties as if they were paid concerts, when instead they are organized by Amateur Sports Associations which by law cannot carry out profit-making activities. Payment requests that, if demanded by all municipalities, would mean that no other race, except perhaps the Giro d'Italia, would pass through your territories anymore.

In fact, in some of your "regulations" the cycling race is considered "devoid of public interest" simply because it receives sponsorships! Isn't that an exaggeration?

Certainly, to avoid paying for the Local Police service, the organizer is granted the loophole of obtaining paid municipal patronage or having the City Council approve the public interest nature of the initiative. A partial solution, uncertain in its outcomes, complex and impossible to manage for road races that cross several municipalities, for which organizers already have heavy burdens in obtaining authorizations and various ordinances.

You Mayors, individually or as Unions of Municipalities, have approved these regulations perhaps with some underestimation, then leaving it to the Local Police Commands to face the increasingly discouraged organizers, who sometimes give up the service, other times contest it, and still other times simply suffer it like subjects. This won't do! It needs to be remedied. It is necessary to avoid the disasters of those who might be led to believe that the value of sports promotion can be separated from public support for those who organize it.

This is a matter for mayors, but also for other territorial and regional administrative bodies, as well as for ANCI and the FCI. Taking a moment to reflect on this issue would be the right signal in support of our cycling, a sport that to survive has no other path than the road itself.