Friday, July 1 and Saturday, July 2 at Roosevelt Park departure/arrival of cyclists and recreational-sports party promoted by the MontaEScendInBike group “La Rotonda” and Polisportiva I’Giglio
A bicycle touring route divided into “four petals,” which will be attended by “two-wheel” enthusiasts from all over Italy, from simple amateurs to the most experienced. But also a recreational-sports festival open to all, which will have as its “base” the Roosevelt Park in Castelfiorentino. This is, in a nutshell, the initiative promoted by the amateur group MontaEScendInBike “La Rotonda” and the Polisportiva I’Giglio under the patronage of the municipality, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2, in Castelfiorentino (FI). The program of the event was illustrated this morning at City Hall by the Mayor, Alessio Falorni, the Councillor for Sports, Simone Bruchi, the president of Polisportiva I’Giglio, Silvano Comanducci, and some representatives of the amateur group “La Rotonda”: Fanny Malatesti, Graziella Tripodi and Simona Mencacci.
The 24HQuadrifoglio presents itself as an event for cycling enthusiasts, but not only. For two days, from 6 p.m. on Friday to midnight on Saturday, Roosevelt Park will be set up as a real sports “Village,” which cyclists can use as a refreshment point (“food and drink” area), as an overnight area (in sleeping bag, tent or gym) and finally as an event space, open to everyone’s participation.
The route-suitable for mountain bikes or “gravel” bikes-will run along four different routes (the “petals,” which form precisely the “Four-leaf clover”) and participants will have twenty-four hours, to be used independently, with maximum freedom to complete even one of them. The names of the four routes are indicative of the characteristics of the route or the landscape context. Thus to the north we will have the “Polveroso,” as it is formed essentially by “white roads,” to the east the “Castelloso,” which will take participants to admire some of the “pearls” of the area such as the Castello di Oliveto or the Villa di Cabbiavoli, to the west the “Francigeno,” which will coincide with a stretch of the ancient Via Francigena, and finally to the south the “Di Vino,” where breathtaking views will be admired, characterized by the presence of the Valdelsa wineries. The length of each route, which will be plotted with GPS, varies from a minimum of 40 to a maximum of 50 kilometers, for a total of 160 kilometers (the full four-leaf clover)
Participants will be welcomed at 6 p.m. on Friday, and at 7 p.m. the “Village” (non-stop hours) will be opened with the “Food & Drink” area, with aperitifs, porchetta sandwiches and the first Live “Dj set.” At 9 p.m. the official departure of the cyclists along the various routes, while the Village will also remain open at night to offer its services to all. From 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, the exhibition area will also open, set up by industry professionals, and – in the evening (from 6 p.m. to midnight) – there will be a new DJ set with the participation of Agnese Sikora Dj and Diego Guarino on percussion. Saturday afternoon (6 p.m.) sees the return of the cyclists and the verification of the completion of the “petals” of the Quadrifoglio by checking the four colored four-leaf clovers found along the various routes or by visual check of the GPS maps. At 9 p.m. final dinner open to all and with a menu that will include the traditional “trippa alla castellana” among the various courses, which will be followed by celebrations, especially for those who managed to complete the entire Quadrifoglio.
“We are a non-institutional, but very close-knit group,” declares Fanny Malatesti, on behalf of the entire “La Rotonda” amateur group, “and thinking back to the initiatives we have promoted in the past, we felt like organizing a cycling “twenty-four hour” event to combine the passion for cycling with the freedom to be able to experience it independently, individually, in pairs or in groups, at any time of day or night. The idea of a route in the shape of a four-leaf clover came to us by recalling the four cardinal points, to explore and make known our truly beautiful areas, which have nothing to envy to anyone. We then combined this with entertainment and the use of technology, through the use of GPS.”
“It is an incredible satisfaction for us,” stresses Silvano Comanducci, president of Polisportiva I’Giglio, “to host an event of this significance. For this I thank all the members of La Rotonda who have worked hard to organize such an important event.”
“Our dream is for Castelfiorentino to become a city of sports,” observes Sports Councillor Simone Bruchi, “and this beautiful event also helps us to achieve it.
“This non-competitive cycling route,” observes The Mayor, Alessio Falorni, “represents an absolute novelty for Castelfiorentino, which attracts mountain bike and gravel enthusiasts from all over Italy, an event that not only promotes our territory but is at the same time a nice calling card for the entire Valdelsa, which presents a hilly landscape of absolute environmental value. For this I am grateful to “La Rotonda” and Polisportiva I’Giglio who had the idea of organizing it, and which I hope can be repeated again next year.”