Waiting for the round that will take place tomorrow, October 1, the president of the Velo Club Oggiono has introduced the 2017 of the Baby Lombardy (Sunday 1st October) with this passionate speech:
A famous industrialist once said:“You cannot be professionals if you are not international”: I am the proud president of a sporting society who liked and adopted this motto. As a matter of facts, Velo Club Oggiono has been organizing the race since its 89th edition, making it more and more international year after year. Thanks to our management, our hard-to-please audience has the chance to admire several runners wearing the gears of major professional teams which come from European countries and from all over the world. These racers obviously belong to the Under 23 “nurseries” of these teams, but for sure they will have the chance to compete in races such as the Tour the France or the Giro d’Italia wearing the same gears.
Another slogan that we really like is “A great competition for Under 23 racers is better that a small race for professionals”: that’s why we did our best to organize a great competition for Under 23. Thanks to our commitment, the “Piccolo Lombardia” has become the most international event in Italy. And if you exclude inline and stage races reserved to National teams, you will discover that our competition is amongst the world leaders for internationality: you will hear about the Giro di Lombardia of Oggiono in Belgium, as well in the USA, Australia, Japan, Russia, Germany. This is something that gets us goose bumps, since we entered the world of amateur races very cautiously, and now we are referred to as the “first of the class”.
I feel a great joy now, and I want to share it with my coworkers, who work for 200 days a year to ensure among others safety, quality, funds and promotions to the Piccolo Lombardia. We are honored by this variety of audience, which is something fantastic and beyond our highest expectations. Another thing we are excited about is the commitment of the media: the newspapers emphasize the importance of the race, RAI broadcasts it as a part of its program schedule and private broadcasters become the sounding board of the competition.
Higher and higher, prouder and prouder, more and more international: let’s go, great Piccolo Giro di Lombardia!
