GF ALE’ LA MERCKX 2024: new location, new organization, and new date

The famous Italian Granfondo moves from Verona to Livigno for 2024.

Alé passes the baton to the municipality of Livigno, in Lombardy, but remains the title sponsor and event partner. The Granfondo leaves Verona and gets a new organizing team. The event date is set for Saturday, June 29, 2024.

This Granfondo, as is well known, is dedicated to the “Cannibal,” the famous Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx. Alé La Merckx arrives in Lombardy, in the heart of the Italian Alps, steeped in history and sporting values. The region, also called “Little Tibet,” will allow cycling enthusiasts to achieve new and different goals: to challenge the great peaks and epic passes that are part of Livigno’s fascinating horizon.

The appointment for the Alé La Merckx 2024 is therefore set for Saturday, June 29, with start and finish at the Aquagranda Center in Livigno (Sondrio). Good news for cycling enthusiasts in Valtellina: in 2024, the region will host two stages of the Giro d’Italia as well as one of the most fascinating Granfondos on the international scene.

Two routes

Participants will have the choice between two routes designed to preserve the spirit of this historic event: a long course of 173 km with 4100 meters of elevation gain and a medium course of 96 km with 1300 meters of elevation gain. The new objective of the event is also to encourage the active participation of cyclists eager to test themselves on climbs and hairpin bends of absolute sporting value.

Indeed, the new routes offer many climbs that have been chosen by countless pros as a training ground, in the run-up to the Grand Tours. The shorter course will start from the Aquagranda sports center in Livigno, cross the city center to reach the Passo della Forcola and thus enter Switzerland.

From there, participants will face an impressive and technically difficult section of the Bernina Pass, including the last very difficult hairpin bends. A descent along the Engadine, to Zernez, and a climb back up to Passo del Forno will follow, with the final crossing of the Munt La Schera tunnel and the arrival at Aquagranda.

The longer course, or Granfondo, the most anticipated and spectacular, will be more difficult. After the start from Aquagranda and the village center, the course intensifies in terms of difficulty and technical complexity. The Passo dell’Umbrail, just below the Stelvio, will be the first demanding climb, followed by the descent to Bormio, where the route leads to Foscagno.
From there, cyclists will face a double challenge, with two “Titans” of Italy’s most fascinating cycling passes: the Passo del Foscagno and the Passo Eira. The finish line is still set at Aquagranda. The new Granfondo course is a circuit that will put athletes to the test.

A new event, still dedicated to Eddy

The 18th edition of the Granfondo Alé La Merckx will therefore be an unprecedented event, in the purest Livigno style. It will remain faithful to the values and spirit that Alé has wanted to instill in the Granfondo for 17 years and to the unique way of experiencing cycling in Valtellina, a discipline that considers Little Tibet a true second home.

The memory goes back to 1972, when the Parabiago – Livigno stage of the Giro d’Italia with a high-altitude finish tamed by that same Eddy Merckx, to whom the Granfondo is dedicated. The Belgian, that day, won the stage and climbed onto the podium in the general classification.

“After many years of excellent collaboration with the city of Verona, which we would like to thank once again, we are now able to offer the city of Verona a quality show” commented Alessia Piccolo, CEO of APG, the company to which Alé belongs and historical organizer of the Granfondo – L’Alé La Merckx. “We wanted to give a new dimension to this magnificent cycling sport, giving it an epic character. We wanted to take this wonderful cycling sport to a different level, giving it that epic touch that only the Great Climbs can give.
Today, participants in the Alé La Merckx tackle the Passo del Foscagno, the Passo Eira or the Bernina.
Eira or the Bernina. We are convinced that Livigno will be able to offer this event, which is so dear to us, new goals and new challenges.”

Source: with press release

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