A weekend of great cycling is expected on Italian roads: on Saturday 5 October the Giro dell'Emilia will take place (as well as the Piccolo Lombardia, a race dedicated to the U23s), while on Sunday 6 the Coppa Agostoni will take place, the first round of the Trittico Lombardo .

Both races are not World Tour category, but will have a stellar lineup, with great champions who will compete on our roads.

Let's start with the Giro dell'Emilia: a 215 km race starting in Bologna and finishing on San Luca , whose steep climb will have to be repeated five times in the finale.

The big favorite is the new world champion Tadej Pogacar who will want to triumph at all costs , both to honor his first race in the rainbow jersey and to win the Emilian classic for the first time, after being beaten by Mas and Roglic in the previous two editions. In addition to the Slovenian, there will be many champions present: a Tour de France startlist ! We mention Evenepoel, Roglic, Ayuso, Mas, Pidcock, Tiberi, Alaphilippe, Healy, A.Yates, Bilbao and Ciccone.

The Coppa Agostoni will open, as mentioned, the Lombard Triptych , which will be completed by the Coppa Bernocchi on Monday and the Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday.

The route is the same as in recent years: 166 km with start and finish in Lissone; the usual circuit will be decisive, to be repeated four times, with the three Sirtori-Colle Brianza-Lissolo climbs in succession.

Here too there will be many important cyclists, especially considering the category of the race (1.1).

The startlist is not yet complete, but Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) is the man to beat; however, there will be several good challengers, such as Martin, Wellens and Christen, always for UAE and Gregoire .

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency