The 10th edition of the International Women's Day will be held in Buonconvento (Siena) on Sunday 12th April.a edition of New Heroic, the event on the dirt roads born in the wake of the The Eroica but, in this case, intended for modern bikes. In a word: gravelA term that ten years ago few people knew. and which now few people know about.
For the first time, Nova Eroica will be held in spring, offering participants the intense green of the Val d'Orcia, reviving after the winter. Registration will be open until the day of the event, and there are four routes: 131, 96, 67, and 43 kilometers. Additionally, for the third year, there's the 290-kilometer Epic Route (registration closes April 9).
Brocci remembers the beginnings
Beyond the technical data, we wanted to call up Giancarlo Brocci, the creator of L'Eroica, to find out what these ten years of the Nova version have been like. We caught up with him by phone, coincidentally, while he was at the Eroica Caffè in Padua.
"The birth of the Nova Eroica was a special case ," he recalls. "The agreements with the Municipality of Buonconvento for L'Eroica, the vintage bike version held in the spring, had expired, and we received a significant offer from the Municipality of Montalcino, which was much more financially powerful. To put it simply, Buonconvento wasn't happy about losing L'Eroica to Montalcino, so we decided to invent a new event..."
You immediately thought of the gravel?
We were all talking about new trends and ways to ride a bike off the beaten track. La gravel At that time it was expanding, as was the pedal-assisted bicycle: They were new ways to travel our peripheral routes and also intercept another type of user. And also to "contaminate" them with heroic philosophy, given that Some fundamental aspects have remained in Nova Eroica. I'm thinking of the refreshments, a certain conviviality...
You were one of the first events gravel in Italy. Did you imagine the movement would explode to this extent?
We knew that cycling would increasingly need to find ways to escape traffic; that was obvious. I remember already in the early 2000s, I was talking to Bianchi to suggest they develop a certain type of bicycle that would be increasingly suited to riding on dirt roads.
How has Nova Eroica changed over time?
It has changed by increasingly qualifying the type of participant. At the beginning there was a certain promiscuity with the world of L'Eroica and we ourselves wanted there to be a component of our main movement, that of vintage bicycles. Then, however, it has become increasingly popular with the participation of young people and couples. Sign that the gravel it's also a way to discover the territories.
And what about the participants? Have they changed too?
It's just my impression, but I feel I can say that they've become a little less "racing" and a little more attentive to everything that surrounds the event: from moments of conviviality, to moments where you listen to music, have a drink, spend time together, laugh and joke.
Did L'Eroica purists turn up their noses at the first editions of Nova Eroica?
Well, There is no one more purist than me, who invented it! By the way, I don't even have the gravel Because I can easily ride dirt roads on my racing bike. That said, I'm not just a "vintage" type, but someone who, regardless of my taste for riding a vintage bike, has understood one important thing...
What?
That, to safeguard our heritage of dirt roads, this great increase in cycling practice was needed. Certainly il gravel – but also the electric one – has made a lot of people go back to choosing the bicycle, return to these safer routes and create a significant economic flow. All this has meant that today our entire territory has become a destination for cycling tourism. As I often say, we needed to ensure that the rhinoceros earned more alive than by selling its horn, because otherwise they would have killed the rhinoceros...
And what trends do you see now? What will Nova Eroica be like in another ten years?
My dear friend Andrea Borchi has interpreted a truly special trend with the Tuscany Trail: a huge success because it's a wonderful way to ride a bike. I truly believe in bike travel because it's also a cultural experience: a way to explore a region and experience its essence. Now I'm here at the Eroica Caffè in Padua, and in front of me stands the slogan "The beauty of effort and the joy of achievement." I'd also add "The thrill of discovery," in an increasingly connected world where it seems there's little left to discover.
You've already exported the Eroica and Nova Eroica formats around the world. But could we imagine a multi-day version of Nova Eroica in Buonconvento?
It could be an idea, even though we're already an organizational machine called upon to do a thousand things. Another idea we've been mulling over is to include more side events, for example, combining it with the Chianti Classic or the GF Gallo Nero, adding another three or four days of cycling, especially to accommodate all the foreigners who come here from every corner of the world. Anything is possible, depending on our limited resources. We're getting older, and above all, we have so many commitments.
