Flanders Classics has confirmed the Val di Sole event in Vermiglio for the 2022/23 World Cup calendar following the remarkable success of the debut edition. Racing is scheduled for December 17, 2022
The 2022/23 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup calendar recently unveiled by the UCI and the series’ managing company, Flanders Classics, includes an Italian event for the second consecutive season.
After a successful first edition marked by significant international media coverage, Val di Sole will once again stage a one-of-a-kind cyclo-cross race in Vermiglio (Trentino). It is predicted to be the first cyclo-cross event raced entirely on a snow-covered racecourse.
Cyclo-cross fans who enthusiastically welcomed the novel new race last December can rest assured because the Vermiglio event will be the one-and-only round of the UCI World Cup calendar taking place in Italy.
Saturday, December 17, 2022, is the red-circled date of the 2022/23 winter cycling season in Italy, featuring cyclo-cross superstars set to clash in unique ambient conditions. Last December, the riders put on a memorable show on the Val di Sole snow by spotlighting the new format with a goal to strengthen cyclocross' candidacy as an Olympic discipline for the Winter Olympic Games.
In 2021, Belgian champ, Wout Van Aert, and Dutch racer, Fem Van Empel, took home the spoils at Val di Sole, the latter prevailing in the women’s race after a thrilling duel with Marianne Vos.
“The emotions of the first edition are carved in our memory, and what was a successful experiment convinced us to believe in the new flagship event of our winter season,” said Val di Sole Tourism Board and Grandi Eventi Val di Sole President, Luciano Rizzi. “The Cyclo-cross World Cup represents a great occasion for our region and helps pave the way for our new Alpine Gravel tourism project, which we expect to be a key asset of our bike offerings.”
Organized by the Val di Sole Tourism Board and Grandi Eventi Val di Sole in collaboration with Flanders Classics, the Italian cyclo-cross event looks destined for both a bright present and future. Now the focus is on raising the bar higher for the second edition, particularly with the opportunity to attract foreign fans whose attendance was held back by COVID in December.
The Cyclo-cross World Cup weekend is another element to a great bike season for Val di Sole. From June 1st to the 4th, Folgarida will open the summer season by hosting the IMBA Europe Summit, a top-level summit covering future trends and challenges in mountain biking, followed by the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup finals in Daolasa di Commezzadura, September 2-4, 2022.
