To the two riders, protagonists in the Tour de France, Mayor Alessio Falorni presented a parchment at the opening of last night’s City Council meeting.
What are the chances that two of the fourteen Italian cyclists who participated in the latest Tour de France could come from a municipality of just 17,000 inhabitants? That, too, must have been on the minds of many citizens of Castelfiorentino who followed from home the pedaling of Alberto Bettiol and Kristian Sbaragli during the various stages of the prestigious 109th transalpine competition, which was later won by the Dane Jonas Vingegaard. And it was in this spirit that last night, at the opening of the City Council meeting, Mayor Alessio Falorni presented a parchment to the two darlings of Castellian cycling (Bettiol was present via videoconference), who took part in the Tour with their teams, the EF Education-EasyPost (Bettiol) and Alpecin-Deceuninck (Sbaragli) teams.
Prior to the ceremony, artist Bruna Scali donated a painting made especially for the two champions, further confirming the bond of affection with the entire population that follows their exploits with attention and enthusiasm. The drawing depicts some cyclists crossing the new traffic circle where Bruna Scali made a huge Lily, and which will be officially opened on September 9.
“Examples of excellence in Castelfiorentino sports,” Alberto Bettiol and Kristian Sbaragli rode the various stages of the tour as protagonists, albeit with different margins of freedom and autonomy from the needs of their team. Alberto Bettiol, in particular, came close to victory on stage 14, breaking away from Matthews who then managed to get the better of him, crediting himself as the “best” among the Italian riders. For his part, Kristian Sbaragli rode great, sacrificing himself especially for Jasper Philipsen, teammate and winner of two stages (including the final one, with the “sprint” to the Champs-Elysées).
Among the fans who followed the various stages of the tour could not miss the mayor, Alessio Falorni, who from his “social” profile had wished Bettiol and Sbaragli well at the beginning of the competition (“two fantastic athletes, two special guys, your whole country looks at you with affection, pride and admiration,” he had written in one of his posts) and who was therefore delighted to present this recognition at the end of the tour.
“It has been almost ten years, ever since they became professionals,” Mayor Falorni noted, “that the Municipal Administration has been following the career of these two wonderful boys with admiration. In all these years, Alberto Bettiol and Kristian Sbaragli have captured really important results, which are a credit to our area where they first pedaled. Having two cyclists from our municipality in the Tour de France, in which 14 Italian riders took part, is truly a great satisfaction for all the citizens of Castelfiorentino and our Community, for whom sport has always been a strength and a source of pride.”