The Fausto Coppi, a gran fondo with an impact of around 2 million
Last year, 2546 runners from as many as 42 nations participated in the Cuneo race. The Turin Polytechnic study
Restitution. Bringing the value generated by a sports event back to the territory. This is the objective of a study commissioned by the La Fausto Coppi granfondo to the Politecnico di Torino, together with Confindustria Cuneo, eVISO and the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce. One of the most famous and classic amateur cycling granfondo races, now in its 37th edition, is a sporting event that attracts more than 2,500 cyclists from all over the world to Piedmont every year on the last Sunday of June. Attracted by the myth of Coppi, the heron who flew on the pedals, by his exploits and his famous climbs in the Maritime Alps. Mountains of wild beauty, less combed than the Dolomites, but also more solitary. Lonely like Fausto Coppi, in fact, who often arrived alone at the finish line. In the sign of Nicolò Carosio's famous phrase, which has gone down in history, at the end of the radio commentary of the Milan-Sanremo of 1946: 'First classified Coppi. While waiting for the second, we broadcast dance music'.
The organisers of the granfondo named after Campionissimo questioned the impact that a successful sporting event brings to the territory and also its sustainability. The study was coordinated by Professor Chiara Gastaldi from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino. Through the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, an attempt was made to assess the sustainability of the event. Identifying strengths, weaknesses and strategies to support continuous improvement. The result is a very interesting work with numbers and figures, which tells how the amateur sport of pedalling is a phenomenon driven by passion, by the love of hard work, but is also a social and cultural economic phenomenon that impacts the territory.
The granfondo sector in Italia after the pandemic has experienced a difficult time, due to a drop in the number of participants and sponsors. Alongside the growth of non-competitive off-road, trail and gravel cycling events.
The Fausto Coppi is bucking the trend. Last year, 2,546 amateurs participated, coming from no less than 42 nations. Analysing all the data collected, the economic impact generated by the event for the Provincia Granda was estimated at more than 1.9 million euro over a weekend. With an estimated 3,895 presences, 7,812 overnight stays in the city and an average daily expenditure per capita of 77.42 euro.
The environmental impact was assessed by estimating the amount of CO₂ produced by each participant. The only scientific reference on the environmental footprint of large sports events concerns the 2014 Special Olympics Summer Games in Canada, where an amount of 10.8 kg of CO₂ equivalent emitted by each participant was estimated. At the GF in Cuneo, the Kg of CO₂ equivalent emitted by each participant in the 2024 edition, generated by activities directly related to the event, was estimated at 7.58 Kg. A much lower value, generated by several factors: the 20% reduction in emissions in the Food & Beverage category thanks to the choice of food from local suppliers and the use of biodegradable materials; to which must be added the two tonnes of CO₂ equivalent saved thanks to the use of energy from 100% renewable sources, supplied by eVISO.
