Raggio and Arnaudo win 34th Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio
Luca Raggio (Team Piùsport Levante) And Samantha Arnaudo (Om.cc) won the 34th edition of the Cuneo-based International Granfondo
Two thousand cyclists from 24 countries competed on the two routes of 177 and 111 kilometres. The Ligurian Luca Raggio won the Granfondo, while for the women Samantha Arnaudo repeated her success of 2021 and placed 11th overall. In the Mediofondo, sprint finish for Andrea Cismondi (Cicli Pepino) and in the women's field, victory for the French Tyffen Saure (OM.CC).
The thirty-fourth Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio started yesterday at 7 a.m. from the 'heart' of Cuneo in Piazza Galimberti, which has always welcomed the start and finish of the race since the first edition in 1987.
With 2,200 registered participants and 2,000 actual starters (including 145 women), the Cuneo-based cycling event confirmed its status as a benchmark for the international granfondo movement.
Luca Raggio (Team Piùsport Levante) and Samantha Arnaudo (OM.CC), both with a professional background, dominated the long route, while Andrea Cismondi (Cicli Pepino) and Tyffen Saure (OM.CC) won the Mediofondo race.
As every year there were many participants who chose to be at the start in Cuneo after an intercontinental journey: Americans, Brazilians, South Africans, Uruguayans, Moroccans and Kenyans. Among the 24 countries at the start, the two nations with the most participants besides Italy were France and the Netherlands. It is worth mentioning the significant presence of German athletes with around 40 registered.
Before the start, Mayor Patrizia Manassero read out a message that the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, had sent to the organisers with great wishes for all the participants in the event.
Many athletes and public figures took part in the Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio, including the Olympic Champion and two-times World Champion Paolo Bettini and the World Champion of Alpine Skiing Marta Bassino.
The Race
At 7 a.m. Paolo Bettini waved the checkered flag, kicking off the competition.
The group faced the first hour of the Granfondo race at a really sustained pace: it arrived at the foot of the Valmala climb with a partial average of 43 km/h, then the climbers played it straight. The first climb of the day selected a group of ten attackers: Arne Saey, Paolo Castelnovo, Harold Evans, Alexander Worsdale, Mattia Stoppa, Andrea Gallo, Stephane Cognet, Matteo Calcagno, Luca Raggio, and Sabato Maria Venutolo.
The outriders entered Dronero with a haul of 2:00" over the chasing group including Samantha Arnaudo.
On the slopes that led to the Piatta Soprana, first Stoppa and then Saey let go, while on the subsequent descent it was Venutolo who had to stop due to a puncture. The rest of the riders climbed in harmony up to Campomolino, then there was the acceleration of Castelnovo and Cognet that made Raggio break away. It was at this point that the Team Piùsport Levante racer chose to proceed at his own pace and make the most of his skills as a climber rouler.
Castelnovo climbed the Colle Fauniera in the lead over Cognet and Raggio, but on the following descent and on the ramps of the Madonna del Colletto, Luca Raggio reversed the situation by catching Castelnovo, breaking away from him and crossing the last peak of the day with a lead of 1'50" over his adversary.
The fast descent towards Cuneo allowed Luca Raggio (Team Piùsport Levante) to finish in 5h42'40" at an average of 30.99 km/h and to impose himself with a lead of 4'01" over Paolo Castelnovo (Asd Team MP Filtri) and 8'41" over Evans.
Samantha Arnaudo (OM.CC) replicated her 2021 success with a long solo ride that saw her finish eleventh overall. The OM.CC climber finished in 6h17'48" at an average of 28.11 km/h ahead of Maria Elena Palmisano (Asd Garda Scott Matergia) by 24'36" and Asia Balocco (GS Passatore) by 1h25'07".
The men's Mediofondo race ended in a three-way sprint to the finish line in Piazza Galimberti: Andrea Cismondi (Cicli Pepino) stopped the timer at 3h40'55" at an average of 30.15 km/h, with Gabriele Novaira (Team Poirinese) 2nd at 1" and Davide Lombardi (Vitamin.In CMF Asd) 3rd at 2".
In the women's Mediofondo race, Tyffen Saure (OM.CC) succeeded with a time of 4h12'49" at an average of 26.34 km/h, 27'40" lower than that of second placed Enrica Garello (Vigor Redmount-Freedom to Ride) and 30'23" lower than that of Beatrice Blanc (GS Passatore).
Luca Raggio, winner of the 34th Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio said afterwards "There were only a few of us left on the Valmala climb. I'm someone who tries to make a selection pace so after a short time there were eight of us left. I knew that on the Fauniera Castelnovo would have gone strong because he has shown this season that ascents are his bread and butter. So at the base of the hill, I broke away and decided to go at my own pace. He overtook me. I continued at my own pace. Then experience and strategy paid off. I caught him on the last climb, Madonna del Colletto, and then launched myself downhill, trying to break away from him as much as possible. La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio, as well as the Maratona delle Dolomiti, was one of my goals for the season. I am really satisfied with this victory! I have created a youth team and now I will dedicate myself to them."
Samantha Arnaudo, women's winner of the 34th GF Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio said, "We faced the first climb rather quickly, then I arrived on the Fauniera and I felt good, I went up strongly, I had no problems. After that, I was alone and my teammates only caught up with me towards the end: thankfully because then I could catch my breath a little. I train a lot during the year for these races, since January I have already done over 14,000 km. I won the last edition of La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio and I am happy to have repeated this year: compared to 2021 I did much better on the climbs and then I improved my time, coming 11th overall. A great satisfaction!"
3 days Cycling Celebration!
The three days of the Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio, which began on Friday 23 June at 4pm with the opening of the village in Piazza Galimberti, were full of collateral events that animated the incredibly elegant central square of Cuneo.
The bicycle was the protagonist right from the eve with #Cuneoinbici and Karhu and Garmin Running Tour, the initiative that saw 300 cyclists and 300 runners walking around the city, Bimbinsella, the event dedicated to the youngest, and the “Sfilata dei Supereroi” (Superheroes Parade) in which the delegations of the starting nations paraded together with a group of children and young adults with fragile conditions, in collaboration with Csv Servizi per il Volontariato di Cuneo. Together with them there were also the Olympic Champion and the two-times road cycling World Champion Paolo Bettini and the two-times Alpine Skiing World Champion Marta Bassino.
The stage in Piazza Galimberti was used to introduce the Matterhorn Speed Opening - Ski World Cup Zermatt/Cervinia, the first cross-border World Cup ski race scheduled for the coming ski season.
Simultaneously with the Granfondo and Mediofondo races, the third edition of La Fausto Coppi eBike, La Fausto Coppi Mangia&Pedala in collaboration with Coldiretti and Bicingiro Cuneo took place.
Sustainability guided many of the collateral initiatives conceived by La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio, for example the planting of 34 trees, corresponding to the number of editions of the event, for the Bosco diffuso created in collaboration with Acqua San Bernardo.
The Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio has also obtained an important certification from Legambiente, awarded as a result of the observance of good practices; it is the second national granfondo event to obtain such an acknowledgement due to its focus on environmental sustainability issues.
The 2023 Route
Once again this year, the participants of the Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio measured themselves on the two now traditional routes: the 177-kilometre Granfondo with 4125 metres of altitude difference and the 111-kilometre Mediofondo with 2510 metres of altitude difference. A few minutes after the start, at the bottom of the Soleri viaduct, the group split into two parts: the participants of the long route turned right, those of the short one turned left.
Five valleys were crossed in the 177-km race: Varaita, Maira, Grana, Gesso and Stura.
The 2,481 metres of Colle Fauniera were the Cima Coppi of the event.
Almost a quarter of a century after Marco Pantani's exploit at the Giro d'Italia in 1999, this stunning GPM (King of the Mountain) continues to be a powerful magnet for two-wheels enthusiasts from all over the world.
The combination of this iconic climb and the tradition of an event born in the late 1980s makes the Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio one of the most loved events on the international granfondo calendar.
Link to 2023 34th Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio results: https://www.endu.net/en/events/fausto-coppi/results
2024 Registration Now Open
ASD Fausto Coppi on the road, which organises the event, is looking to the future and announcing the opening of registration for the 2024 edition.
From tomorrow, 1 July, it will be possible to register for the 35th Granfondo Internazionale La Fausto Coppi Officine Mattio.
The new date of the event has also been set: it will be Sunday 30 June 2024.
For more information, please visit: www.faustocoppi.net
