35 teams will battle it out on April 1st for the crown owned by the Dutch squad: some of the best U23 World Tour teams like Astana, Bora, Jayco, EF and UAE Emirates among the contenders
The second century of Giro del Belvedere will kick off on April 1st with 35 teams chasing glory on the roads of Villa di Cordignano (Treviso, North-East Italy). Alongside with 18 Italian squads, there will be 17 international teams representing 15 Countries, confirming the status of the Venetian Easter Monday Classic, which represents an established springboard towards pro cycling.
The title holder, Norwegian Johannes Staune-Mittet, winner of Giro del Belvedere and Giro NextGen in 2023, achieved a professional contract with a major team such as Visma-Lease a Bike and will chase an encore on the roads of Belvedere, featuring Tijmen Graat (4th place in 2023 and winner of Palio del Recioto), Tomos Pattinson (Winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Junior) Italians Pietro Mattio and Dario Igor Belletta, and another Norwegian talent for both cycling and Nordic skiing such as Jorgen Nordhagen, gold medal in the junior men’s 20km mass start race in freestyle technique at the cross-country skiing World Championships at the beginning of February.
Trying to get in the way of the Dutch “Bees” will be the best World Tour Development Teams, such as Astana, Bora, Jayco, EF and UAE Emirates. The Kazak squad features three Italian talents such as Alessandro Romele, Davide Toneatti and Mattia Negrente, together with son of art Alexander Vinokourov Jr. And talking about sons of art, Hagens Berman Jayco boasts the like of Ben Wiggins, versatile 18 year-old rider son of Sir Bradley Wiggins. On the other hand, the UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z can count on the Italian ITT and European Mixed Relay ITT Junior Champion Luca Giaimi, alongside with Owen Cole (USA) and Jonathan Guatibonza (Colombia).
Featuring the 85th edition of Giro del Belvedere will also be Monex Pro Cycling and U.C. Monaco, teams from two of the smallest Countries in Europe (San Marino and Principality of Monaco, respectively). The Monegasque squad boasts Ronald Bernal, brother of Giro d’Italia and Tour de France winner Egan Bernal.
Italian hopes mostly lie in teams such as Zalf Euromobil Fior (the team with the most wins in Villa di Cordignano), Team Colpack Ballan and UC Trevigiani. Continental squads such as Team Q36.5, Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna (led by former Italian TD Davide Cassani), Cycling Team Friuli and Polti-Kometa U23 (founded by Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador) are not to be underestimated.
Following 8 laps of the traditional “Conche” opening loop, the riders will face 5 laps (were 3 in 2023) of the “Giro del Buongustare” second ring, featuring the new Piai della Vigna ascent (500 m long at 9% average gradient and 15% peak) and a food&wine showcase for the public.
This new climb will also be part of the final and decisive loop, where the riders will also tackle the Montaner (1.5 km long at 12% gradient) and Via delle Longhe (500 m long at 12% gradient and 17% peak) ascents. The total length of 2024 Giro del Belvedere 2024 is of 168 km, with the record elevation gain of 2085 metres.
85TH GIRO DEL BELVEDERE FIELD
ITALIAN TEAMS: Zalf Euromobil Fior, Team MBH Bank Colpack Ballan, CTF Victorious, Solme – Olmo, UC Trevigiani – Energiapure Marchiol, Team Gaiaplast Bibanese, General Store – Essegibi – F.lli Curia, Hopplà – Petroli Firenze – Don Camillo, Biesse – Carrera, Rime, VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè, Team Technipes #InEmiliaRomagna, Q36.5 Continental Cycling Team, Team Bike Sicilia, Campana Imballaggi – Geo&Tex – Trentino, Gallina Ecotek Lucchini, Beltrami TSA – Tre Colli, Mg.K Vis – Colors For Peace
INTERNATIONAL TEAMS: Team Visma – Lease a Bike Development (Netherlands), Hagens Berman Hayco (USA), Astana Qazaqstan Development Team (Kazakhstan ), Tirol KTM Cycling Team (Austria), Ljubljiana Gusto Santic (Slovenia), Team Polti Kometa U23 (Spain), Team Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank (Germany), Zappi Racing Team (Great Britain), Sava Kranji Cycling (Slovenia), UC Monaco (Monaco), UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z (UAE), ARA | Skip Capital (Australia), Adria Mobil (Slovenia), Nippo – EF – Martigues (France), AVC Aix-En-Provence (France), GW Erco Shimano (Colombia), A.R. Monex Pro Cycling Team (San Marino).
