GeoGravel Tuscany is not just a sporting event, it is a great collective celebration where cycling and music merge, where pedalling and dancing - if you think about it - come together and share a moment.
But just like any great race, it needs great riders, a great party needs a great musician to warm up the atmosphere and ignite the hearts of the participants.
For this reason, GeoGravel Tuscany has chosen an exceptional name for the sound of the evening on Saturday 1st June: Saturnino. Bassist, composer, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, Saturnino is also known as the historic bassist of Jovanotti, and another great cycling fan.
We caught up with him to find out about his relationship with cycling and the Tuscan geothermal area, and to get a preview of the songs he has chosen for GeoParty 2024.
Saturnino, you'll be the guest of honour at GeoGravel's big GeoParty on Saturday 1st June, do you know much about the Tuscan geothermal area?
Until recently I didn't know anything about it, then I had the honour of exploring this extraordinary area of Tuscany thanks to my friend Paolo Bettini, who accompanied me.
He spent a whole morning describing to me the length and breadth of these incredible places where you really feel like you are on another planet.
Gravel is not just cycling, it is also partying, sharing, being together, a bit like music. What is the connection between music and sport?
I find the world of gravel very similar to me, musically I have never been afraid to try all styles, which is a bit of a gravel approach to music.
We know that you once took part in the Granfondo 9 Colli because of a certain Lorenzo... tell us how it went?
Actually I did the 9 Colli twice… The first time I finished, the second time I stopped less than halfway through. I went because Lorenzo (Jovanotti), who is a big cycling fan, put together a team and gave everyone a bike. I still have mine in the basement, with which I shared this 'mystical' experience. Also because I think I had started hallucinating on the fourth climb... But it was just too much fun.
Will you reveal any tracks that you have thought of putting on GeoGravel?
I can only reveal what I won't put on: bad music. I promise.
Last question. The morning after the party, the 3 GeoGravel trails will start, will you try to ride the Grey Roads?
Of course I will! I am looking forward to following the whole group on a beautiful assisted bike, which is the only thing that will allow me to tackle the route and have fun, given my current training.
GeoGravel Tuscany is more than a two-day sporting event. It is a real gravel festival, an event to discover the Colline Metallifere and Tuscan geothermal energy.
The event begins on Friday 31st May in the afternoon with the inauguration of the GeoVillage in the Piazzone. This beautiful space, close to the centre of Pomarance (PI), will host the GeoFestival, the heart of the event. Here you can enjoy an evening of concerts. You will also find stalls selling local food and wine as well as various speciality shops.
This is also the starting point for the various rides: the Ultra route on Saturday 1st June and the Short, Medium and Long routes on Sunday 2nd June.