Everything’s ready in Arco on the eve of the Tour of the Alps (16-20th April). Full attention to the teams’ presentation (at 5.20PM) and the press conference of the top favorites, who from Monday will compete for the much sought-after Mastro7 trophy
Chris Froome vs. Fabio Aru: this is the great duel standing out at the forthcoming Tour of the Alps 2018. Perhaps at Giro d’Italia, too? Who knows. It is sure that the Euregio event represents, once again, an important moment of the cycling season, providing a special preview towards the first grand tour of the year.
While waiting for the great competition on the road, which will be joined by other leading characters like Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, South-African Louis Meintjes and Italian Domenico Pozzovivo, the Arco Casino will be the stage of the first “duel” – at the microphone, for the moment – between the four-time Tour de France winner and the Italian National Champion, during the press conference on the eve scheduled at 4.30PM on Sunday.
A hour later (5.20PM), the public teams’ presentation to the cycling enthusiasts will be in the limelight, which will take place in the square in front of the Arco Casino to greet the most awaited champions at the start. On Monday, the climb in Serrada and the challenging ramp in the historic centre of Folgaria will represent the first intense moments of the Euroregional race for the 140 riders, representing 20 squads (9 World Tour) and 34 countries.
On Friday, the grande finale in Innsbruck on the next UCI Road World Championships’s circuit: after facing 716,9 km and 10 KoM, only one rider will have the honor to rise up in the sky the much sought-after trophy by Mastro7, an artist from Trentino, representing the idea of cohesion and cross-border cooperation – core values supporting the Tour of the Alps project.
It is going to be a worldwide relevant event, indeed, as it is made clear from the media coverage figures. Over 100 Countries will be able to enjoy the images of the Tour of the Alps, due to the 90 minutes daily live produced by PMG Sport within the project “Ciclismo Cup” promoted by Lega Ciclismo Professionistico.
The Tour of the Alps will be live broadcasted on Eurosport 1 (Europe, Asia, Oceania), RaiSport (Italy), Bike Channel (Italy), ORF (Austria), TV 2 (Denmark), L’Equipe (France), Eleven (North America), FloBikes (North America, Central America, South America), SkySport (New Zeland) and Econet (Africa).
Live streaming broadcasting available also on PMG Sport Facebook page and on the following web portals: Pmgsport.it, Repubblica.it, Gazzetta.it, inbici.net, cicloweb.it, pulsemedia.it, oasport.it, LaPresse.it, Corrieredellosport.it, Tg.la7.it, Federciclismo.it, Tuttobiciweb.it, Cyclingpro.net, SpazioCiclismo.it, CiclismoSport.Go.tv, Mondiali.net e DirettaCiclismo.it.
THE 2018 TOUR OF THE ALPS ROUTE
Stage 1 – Monday April 16th
Arco – Folgaria, km 134,6
Altitude: 2530m. Difficulty: ***
Stage 2 – Tuesday April 17th
Lavarone – Fiemme/Alpe di Pampeago km 145,5
Altitude: 2900m. Difficulty: ****
Stage 3 – Wednesday April 18th
Ora/Auer – Merano/Meran km 138,3
Altitude: 2600m. Difficulty: **
Stage 4 – Thursday April 19th
Chiusa/Klausen – Lienz km 134,3
Altitude: 2300m. Difficulty: ***
Stage 5 – Friday April 20th
Rattenberg – Innsbruck km 164,2
Altitude: 2770m. Difficulty: ***
Five racing days, 716,9 km overall distance, 13.100 mt overall altitude, 10 categorized climbs: the Tour of the Alps features all the elements of a modern race, that after the 2017 success confirms a spectacular formula made of short and intense routes.
TEAMS’ PRESENTATION – THE PROGRAMME
17:30 – Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec (Italy)
17:34 – Team Sky (Great Britain)
17:38 – Israel Cycling Academy (Israel)
17:42 – UAE Team Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
17:46 – Team Felbemayr Simplon Wels (Austria)
17:50 – Groupama FDJ (France)
17:54 – Wilier Triestina Selle Italia (Italy)
17:58 – Euskadi Murias (Spain)
18:02 – Dimension Data (South Africa)
18:06 – Bardiani CSF (Italy)
18:10 – Ag2r La Mondiale (France)
18:14 – Nippo Vini Fantini Europa Ovini (Italy)
18:18 – Team Lotto NL-Jumbo (Netherlands)
18:22 – Gazprom Rusvelo (Russia)
18:26 – Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan)
18:30 – CCC Sprandi Polkowice (Poland)
18:34 – Bora Hansgrohe (Germany)
18:38 – Tirol Cycling Team (Austria)
18:42 – Bahrain Merida (Bahrain)
18:46 – Italian National Team (Italy)
Arco (Italy), April 14th, 2018
