Milano-Torino 2021
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Milano-Torino 2021 Course Map
Milano-Torino 2021 Course Elevation Profile
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Preliminary Discussion [ Note: Torino and Turin(in Dialect) are the same]
The Milano-Torino Cycling Race is traditionally the first of a
triumvirate of races that are usually held in the first week of
October. The other two races are the Gran Piemonte (Tour of Piedmont)
and the Tour of Lombardy, the final classic race in the pro calendar.
This year the course again goes thru some very familiar roads near
my home town of Mazze, in northern Italy, 30 km east of Torino.
You can see Mazze on the map of the race route above.
The course goes over the moraine called the Serra from the east side
and finishes with a double loop to the Basilica of Superga that
overlooks the city of Torino from the south.
In one of our many trips to Europe, Vigorito and I did the
climbs of the Serra and Superga that are being done on this race.
The description of the course says it is mostly flat. Believe me,
there are a lot of little climbs that hurt.
A Photo of Superga.
View of Torino from Superga Hill
Below is my translation of the information provided by the organizers
of the race. It provides an interesting discussion of the history and
attractions at both the start and the destination of the race.
Oct 6 2021 Wednesday: Milano- Torino Race - Web Information
(Credit: Translated and edited from Italian Milano-Torino Website)
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Course Technical Info
Departure from Magenta to cross on flat roads along
the Po valley with rice fields near Novara &
Vercelli to move near Biella and the short
ascent of Zimone to climb over the Serra (a large Moraine).
The remaining course will be
flat, moving through the Po Valley with wide roads and
mainly straight up to the final circuit.
After San Mauro Torinese you go along the Po in Corso Casale for
the climb to the Basilica of Superga for the first time
( but deviate 600 m before the arrival) to descend to
Rivodora with a challenging descent that leads back to San Mauro.
Note: This is the area where in a past race Pantani had broken
away and crashed into a car (that was illegally on the course)
while descending and broke his leg.
Then redo the climb up to Superga for the finish with gradients
of over 10%.
Last KM
Last 5 km (which is repeated twice except for the final 600 m) that
they begin in Turin in Corso Casale where the climb that leads
to the Basilica of Superga. The average incline is 9.1% with a segment
around mid-climb of 14% and long stretches of 10%. At 600 m
from the arrival, a U turn to the left to tackle a ramp
at 8.2% and then the last corner at 50 m from the finish line
on asphalt (width 7m).
Magenta - The City of Departure 2021
Magenta is located twenty minutes from Malpensa (Milan International
Airport) twenty kilometers from Milan.
Magenta has been a city since 1947 and has about twenty-three thousand
inhabitants. It is the seat of the Parco del
Ticino in the Villa Castiglioni and the territory is rich in
natural, agricultural environments and preserves That comprise
a heritage forest that once occupied the rest of the Po Valley.
Magenta is best known for the historic Battle of June 4th
1859, a fundamental episode of the Second War of (Italian) Independence,
that binds it to the Italian Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy.
The Battle of Magenta is commemorated every year as the first
Sunday in June, with a party that celebrates not only
history and culture, but also solidarity and brotherhood
between peoples. The highlight of the event is the historical
re-enactment in costume.
The House of Jacob and the Ossuary for the Fallen, places
linked to the Battle, can be visited. The city then boasts
a long vocation for music, with the Opera House,
an orchestra, three historic bands, several choirs and
various celebrations.
Turin the City (Finish at Basilica of Superga overlooking Turin)
Capital of Piedmont and defined by Le Corbusier as the city with
the most beautiful natural location, Turin is surrounded by a
luxuriant hills, dominated by the Juvarriana Basilica of
Superga, crossed by the great river, the Po, and surrounded
from the western Alps.
Torino's story begins more than
two thousand years ago with a small village "Taurasia" that in
Roman age it becomes Augusta Taurinorum, hence the name. In 1280
the Savoy dynasty conquered Turin and under their reign the
city experienced one of the most important transformations of its
history thanks to the great court architects
(from Vitozzi to Guarini and Juvarra) one of the major capitals
of the Baroque as well as guardian of the Holy Shroud.
Before Torino was capital of Italy in 1861, it had many firsts behind it,
from cars to cinema to design, it is a city with a discreet charm,
regal, to be discovered by strolling through its elegant squares,
baroque and arcaded streets: 12 kilometers of continuous arcades
out of 18, which accompany the visitor on a suggestive itinerary
between historic cafes, ancient bookstores and Royal Residences (heritage
Unesco since 1997), sumptuous court or holiday palaces.
Turin is also home to art with over 40 museums, including the
Egyptian Museum, second in the world for the importance of collections,
and four national museums: the Museum of Cinema, of the Automobile,
Mountain museum, and the Risorgimento as well as prestigious museums of
contemporary art.
Gastronomy of Torino and Piedmont
Turin cuisine boasts a long and refined tradition
making Turin one of the world capitals of taste.
Great use of unique local vegetables, meats, cheeses
ingredients for refined and tasty recipes.
Appetizers
The lion's share: from veal with tuna sauce to anchovies
to the green sauced meat and fish soaked in dishes
more delicate such as vegetable flans and small tomini of
fresh cheese.
First courses
The Bagna Caôda (Bath Hot-Dip), an ancient recipe, stands out.
A peasant based on sauce with oil(or butter), anchovies and garlic where you
dip raw and boiled vegetables. Agnolotti (special ravioli), gnocchi and
risotto are other 1st courses.
The main courses
The famous mixed fry (Fritto Misto), consists of a variety of vegetables,
meats, fruits, sweets that are all breaded and quickly fried.
There are also mixed boiled meats, braised meats.
There are also many special polenta dishes
including polenta 'cuncia' (with melted cheese) or polenta with
boar meat or mountain goat meat.
Breadsticks are never lacking on the table with versions
that are 'pulled' or 'ironed', crumbly and with a delicate taste
or "rubatà" or 'fallen' taste, full-bodied and slightly leavened,
in the shape of a stick, an invention all Turin.
The cheeses whose list is endless and delicious:
from robiole, to many kinds of 'tome', from tomini of
straw yellow in consistency to firm or pasty.
The everpresent mountain fontina, or the sharp gorgonzola.
And finally, the confectionery industry of
Turin boasts the invention of zabaglione, egg yolks
beaten with sugar and Marsala. Bignole, delicate
and irresistible little pastries covered with icing and filled with
all sorts of puddings.
The iconic 'giandujotto' candy, obtained by mixing chocolate with
toasted hazelnut flour, cremini, liqueur-flavored alpini,
pralines and other delights.
There is also the famous "bicerin" ('little glass' in the local
dialect) which is a warm drink of coffee and melted chocolate.
Wines of Piedmont
It is obvious that Piedmont is a land of great wines: among the
His majesty's best-known reds are Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera,
Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and among the whites Arneis, Gavi and
Malvasia. But that the province of Turin is the guardian of as many
great wines is little known. The territory around Turin is
home to an important and ancient winemaking tradition:
about 60 kilometers long you meet the Canavese area,
of the Collina Torinese, of the Pinerolese and of the Valsusa where
appreciate 25 DOC wines, produced from 11 characteristic grape varieties.
Among these, the most Turin of all is Freisa, a ruby red wine,
slightly sparkling, produced in the Chieri area e
in the urban vineyard next to Villa della Regina a few
hundreds of meters from the city center.
Turin boasts aanother first: the aperitif. Known all over the world,
Vermouth was born in Turin in 1786 by Antonio Benedetto
Carpano, and initially sold in a liquor shop in Piazza Castello.
For its recipe, Moscato del Piedmonte is used with extracts and
infusions of about 30 aromatic herbs. There are various types of
Vermouth: red, white, pink, sweet and dry. In Turin, Vermouth is a
real center of the aperitif.
Points of Interest in Torino
Turin is a city of a thousand souls, a perfect combination
between past and contemporary, which looks to the future while preserving
its charm as an ancient capital of Italy. Only in the center
there are six Royal Residences (Unesco Heritage since 1997),
some of which are custodians of prestigious museums: Palazzo Reale e
Chiablese Palace, which are part of the Royal Museums,
Palazzo Carignano which houses the National Museum
del Risorgimento, Palazzo Madama (unique in its baroque style
and medieval) with its Civic Museum of Ancient Art,
Villa della Regina and the Valentino Castle. And again, a
a few kilometers from the city center, the Hunting Palace
of Stupinigi, the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale and the Castle of Rivoli,
seat of the prestigious Museum of Contemporary Art. Not to be overlooked,
impressive religious buildings such as the Cathedral where the
Holy Shroud is preserved.
From the heart of Turin, piazza Castello,the main city arteries branch off:
via Roma embellished from piazza San Carlo, the baroque lounge,
via Garibaldi, the longest pedestrian walkway in Europe, and
via Po which leads to Church of the Great Mother of God at the foot
of a large green hill dominated by the Basilica of Superga.
Superga is the work of Juvarra, and was built to commemorate the
defeat of the invading French armies that besieged Turin in 1706.
It is also the site of the airplane crash that killed the Grande
Torino soccer team returning from a match in Lisbon, Portugal in 1949.
Nearly all of the players were members of the Italian National Soccer
team. I remember visiting the site of the crash when I was 4 years old.
The forests on the hill contribute to making Turin one of the
greenest cities in Italy.
Going along via Po you will come across the Symbol of Torino:
The Mole Antonelliana (The needle-like tower supported by an arched
four-walled dome built entirely of bricks) designed by Antonelli.
It was originally intended to be Jewish Synegogue.
On one side of the four-faced dome, the first Fibonacci numbers are
written with red neon lights at night: they are part of the artistic work
Il volo dei Numeri (Flight of the Numbers) by Mario Merz.
The Mole Antonelliana is site of the Museum Nazionale del Cinema,
a real consecrated "temple" to the seventh art.
There are also many dedicated spaces
to contemporary art, including the GAM (Art Gallery
Modern and Contemporary) and the Sandretto Re Foundations
Rebaudengo and Merz. Between residences and a museums, the city goes
along the banks of the Po until reaching the
luxuriant greenery of the Valentino park, the Borgo and the Rocca
Medieval, made on the occasion of the General Exposition
Italian of 1884. Turin also holds the reputation in creative
design so much that it was declared Creative City
by Unesco precisely for its ability to reinvent spaces
and places to discover by walking in more peripheral districts:
from the Intesa San Paolo skyscraper, whose 35th floor
it houses the highest restaurant and cocktail bar in Italy.
At the Officine Grandi Riparazioni, once a train repair center
and now a museum, there are now food and tech hubs to the new
headquarters of Lavazza, Nuvola, with the museum dedicated
to Lavazza coffee.
Torino was once the center of FIAT automobile industry, but
much of the manufacturing has been exported.
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Updated Dynamic 2021 /
Copyright © 2021, Max Prola ; extracted, translated, edited from
Gazzetta dello Sport Milano-Torino Website