- Sep 20, 2017
- 11,922
- 22,490
- 28,180
The most random foreign start of a GT ever kicks off with a sprint stage. This is the first time the Vuelta starts with a flat stage since 2007 (won by Daniele Bennati), although not quite the first opportunity since then for a sprinter to wear the leader’s jersey given that Cavendish and Greipel did so in subsequent years. Who will add their name to the roll of honour?
Map and profile
Start
So, first question: does this count as Torino joining Utrecht and Liège as the only places to have hosted all three Grand Tours? It’s listed alongside Reggia di Venaria in the official race material, however those aren’t in the same municipality. And while kilometre zero is in Torino (next to the Coppi monument), the actual start is at the palace. So no, in my book, this does not qualify.
That means I won’t be talking about Torino in these posts for the third time in two years, but rather about the Reggia di Venaria for what is ‘only’ the second time. The Giro has been here three times – the 2011 and 2024 Grande Partenze, as well as the (in)famous 2018 Finestre stage – but they’ve always used the name of the municipality, Venaria Reale, rather than that of the palace like the Vuelta is doing here.
The Reggia di Venaria is one of many palaces in Piemonte commissioned by the House of Savoy in the centuries when Turin served as its capital. I’ve talked about this House at length in various previous analyses on here, so I’ll stick to a more abridged version this time. Having originated in their native Savoie in the 11th century, they had come to rule large parts of what are now the French Alps, Piemonte and Nice by the end of the Middle Ages. However, the presence of France on the western border of their duchy posed a constant threat, and after an invasion in 1536, most of their lands fell into French hands. The second half of the 16th century was spent gradually reclaiming their territories, and as a part of this process the capital was moved from Chambéry to Torino in 1563.
At this time, Venaria Reale was a farming village named Altessano, but in 1658, the reigning Savoyard duke had the name changed when he commissioned a hunting estate, complete with gardens and a new town. In the early 18th century, every European court was obsessed with emulating Versailles and the Savoys, who acquired royal status in this period, were perhaps even more eager than their contemporaries given that they would have sought the pomp to match their kinghood. Thus, work started on expanding the Reggia di Venaria into a full-scale palace. However, over the course of the century, Venaria slowly fell out of favour as the Savoys focused on the newer palace at Stupinigi. Following the Napoleonic conquest in 1798, Venaria was handed over to the French military, and after the restoration of the monarchy in 1815 this function was made permanent.
The Reggia di Venaria remained military property through the ascension of the Savoys as kings of a newly-unified Italy, but gradually fell into disuse in the early 20th century. Restoration efforts were rather limited both during the royally-endorsed fascist era and the first decades of the Republic established in 1946 as a result of this disgrace, and thus the complex decayed. Finally, at the end of the 1990s, a large-scale restoration project was commenced, coinciding with the palace’s UNESCO inscription in 1997. Work was completed in 2007, the year Venaria was opened to the public, and today it is one of the main tourist attractions in Piemonte.
(picture by Terenzonik at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
After a long neutralisation into Torino and through the city centre, the flag will drop on the banks of the Po and the race can begin in earnest. The route follows the river for about 20 kilometres, then turns north towards the town of Ivrea, gateway to the Aosta valley and home to a carnival notable for its orange-throwing fight (different sources claim different figures, but the amount of oranges thrown is somewhere in the hundreds of tons). The riders are avoiding the oranges and the Aosta valley alike, instead heading into the Alpine foothills for the only KOM of the day, La Serra.
The descent takes the peloton to the outskirts of Biella. When a race visits the town, that usually means we’re climbing up to Oropa, the road to which starts in the town centre, but here we head east, skirting any real climbs. However, there is still a point of interest that follows shortly: the intermediate sprint in Valdengo, conveniently located 200 metres after a 90-degree turn. Every intermediate sprint hands out 20 points to the winner, dropping to 10 points for fifth place and nothing for sixth. In addition, there is a bonification sprint on every stage, handing out 6, 4 and 2 seconds: on some stages, this is on a climb, but on others, including this one, the intermediate sprint takes on this role.
The route continues to follow the edge of the Alps as far as Lago Maggiore. En route, we pass through Borgomanero, hometown of record Tour de Suisse winner (and Vuelta runner-up) Pasquale Fornara. From there, it’s a pretty direct route into Novara. We are finishing on the ring road, next to the football stadium, but the route is still a bit of a mess. We have five roundabouts in the final 5.1 kilometres, all of them being pretty big but also not sweeping whatsoever, with the final one sitting at 800 metres from the line. However, the real problem is what comes after that: the final 500 or so metres are a long, gradual curve to the right.
Finish
Novara was founded as a Roman colony in 89 BC and developed into a sizeable, fairly prosperous town during the heights of the Roman era. However, as the Empire went into terminal decline in the West, it was brutally sacked three times: during a civil war in 386, by the Goths in 405 and by the Huns in 452. Despite this, the much-diminished town survived into the Middle Ages, and developed into a wealthy, increasingly independent city. This era ended at the close of the 12th century, when Novara came under Milanese control. From this point until Italian unification, Novara was always close to a border, and thus saw repeated military action. From the late 15th century onwards, the now-declining Duchy of Milano became a key object of French-Habsburg rivalry. After two periods of French occupation, the ducal line went extinct in 1535, and following further wars, the Habsburgs gained control. Thus, it became part of the Spanish Empire until the extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs in 1700. After the subsequent War of the Spanish Succession, it then passed to the Austrian branch.
Novara itself had suffered heavily from the repeated wars at the end of the Milanese period, as it was the site of multiple sieges and battles, but gradually recovered. The city’s basilica was constructed during this period, although the towers (which dominate the skyline) would not be built until the 18th and 19th century respectively. In the 18th century, it became an object of Savoyard territorial expansion. They briefly held the city during the aforementioned succession war, but were forced to relinquish it. However, in 1733, they invaded once more with French support, and this time, the result was successful annexation. Novara has remained a part of Piemonte ever since. The Austrians would return once more: in 1849, during the First Italian War of Independence, the failed first attempt by the Savoys to unite Italy by conquest. In fact, the Battle of Novara was the final act of the war: having been repeatedly defeated by the Austrians, King Charles Albert sued for peace and then abdicated.
Novara finally lost its military importance following the early stages of Italian unification in 1859, which helped spur a long period of industrialization and rapid economic and population growth. Aside from decades of slower development in the interbellum, this era lasted until the 1970s. In addition to the now-declining industry, its location on the main route from Milano to Torino means it serves both as a commuter hub for the former and as a logistical centre. In sports, it is most notable for being the birthplace of Giuseppe Saronni, who parlayed a ridiculously good early career (two Giri with an eventual 24 stage wins, the Worlds, Sanremo and Lombardia, all of those bar two Giro stages by age 25) into steep decline from age 26 onwards and then a long stint as an increasingly dubious team manager at Lampre.
(picture by Francisco Anzola at Wikimedia Commons)
Map and profile
Start
So, first question: does this count as Torino joining Utrecht and Liège as the only places to have hosted all three Grand Tours? It’s listed alongside Reggia di Venaria in the official race material, however those aren’t in the same municipality. And while kilometre zero is in Torino (next to the Coppi monument), the actual start is at the palace. So no, in my book, this does not qualify.
That means I won’t be talking about Torino in these posts for the third time in two years, but rather about the Reggia di Venaria for what is ‘only’ the second time. The Giro has been here three times – the 2011 and 2024 Grande Partenze, as well as the (in)famous 2018 Finestre stage – but they’ve always used the name of the municipality, Venaria Reale, rather than that of the palace like the Vuelta is doing here.
The Reggia di Venaria is one of many palaces in Piemonte commissioned by the House of Savoy in the centuries when Turin served as its capital. I’ve talked about this House at length in various previous analyses on here, so I’ll stick to a more abridged version this time. Having originated in their native Savoie in the 11th century, they had come to rule large parts of what are now the French Alps, Piemonte and Nice by the end of the Middle Ages. However, the presence of France on the western border of their duchy posed a constant threat, and after an invasion in 1536, most of their lands fell into French hands. The second half of the 16th century was spent gradually reclaiming their territories, and as a part of this process the capital was moved from Chambéry to Torino in 1563.
At this time, Venaria Reale was a farming village named Altessano, but in 1658, the reigning Savoyard duke had the name changed when he commissioned a hunting estate, complete with gardens and a new town. In the early 18th century, every European court was obsessed with emulating Versailles and the Savoys, who acquired royal status in this period, were perhaps even more eager than their contemporaries given that they would have sought the pomp to match their kinghood. Thus, work started on expanding the Reggia di Venaria into a full-scale palace. However, over the course of the century, Venaria slowly fell out of favour as the Savoys focused on the newer palace at Stupinigi. Following the Napoleonic conquest in 1798, Venaria was handed over to the French military, and after the restoration of the monarchy in 1815 this function was made permanent.
The Reggia di Venaria remained military property through the ascension of the Savoys as kings of a newly-unified Italy, but gradually fell into disuse in the early 20th century. Restoration efforts were rather limited both during the royally-endorsed fascist era and the first decades of the Republic established in 1946 as a result of this disgrace, and thus the complex decayed. Finally, at the end of the 1990s, a large-scale restoration project was commenced, coinciding with the palace’s UNESCO inscription in 1997. Work was completed in 2007, the year Venaria was opened to the public, and today it is one of the main tourist attractions in Piemonte.
(picture by Terenzonik at Wikimedia Commons)
The route
After a long neutralisation into Torino and through the city centre, the flag will drop on the banks of the Po and the race can begin in earnest. The route follows the river for about 20 kilometres, then turns north towards the town of Ivrea, gateway to the Aosta valley and home to a carnival notable for its orange-throwing fight (different sources claim different figures, but the amount of oranges thrown is somewhere in the hundreds of tons). The riders are avoiding the oranges and the Aosta valley alike, instead heading into the Alpine foothills for the only KOM of the day, La Serra.
The descent takes the peloton to the outskirts of Biella. When a race visits the town, that usually means we’re climbing up to Oropa, the road to which starts in the town centre, but here we head east, skirting any real climbs. However, there is still a point of interest that follows shortly: the intermediate sprint in Valdengo, conveniently located 200 metres after a 90-degree turn. Every intermediate sprint hands out 20 points to the winner, dropping to 10 points for fifth place and nothing for sixth. In addition, there is a bonification sprint on every stage, handing out 6, 4 and 2 seconds: on some stages, this is on a climb, but on others, including this one, the intermediate sprint takes on this role.
The route continues to follow the edge of the Alps as far as Lago Maggiore. En route, we pass through Borgomanero, hometown of record Tour de Suisse winner (and Vuelta runner-up) Pasquale Fornara. From there, it’s a pretty direct route into Novara. We are finishing on the ring road, next to the football stadium, but the route is still a bit of a mess. We have five roundabouts in the final 5.1 kilometres, all of them being pretty big but also not sweeping whatsoever, with the final one sitting at 800 metres from the line. However, the real problem is what comes after that: the final 500 or so metres are a long, gradual curve to the right.
Finish
Novara was founded as a Roman colony in 89 BC and developed into a sizeable, fairly prosperous town during the heights of the Roman era. However, as the Empire went into terminal decline in the West, it was brutally sacked three times: during a civil war in 386, by the Goths in 405 and by the Huns in 452. Despite this, the much-diminished town survived into the Middle Ages, and developed into a wealthy, increasingly independent city. This era ended at the close of the 12th century, when Novara came under Milanese control. From this point until Italian unification, Novara was always close to a border, and thus saw repeated military action. From the late 15th century onwards, the now-declining Duchy of Milano became a key object of French-Habsburg rivalry. After two periods of French occupation, the ducal line went extinct in 1535, and following further wars, the Habsburgs gained control. Thus, it became part of the Spanish Empire until the extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs in 1700. After the subsequent War of the Spanish Succession, it then passed to the Austrian branch.
Novara itself had suffered heavily from the repeated wars at the end of the Milanese period, as it was the site of multiple sieges and battles, but gradually recovered. The city’s basilica was constructed during this period, although the towers (which dominate the skyline) would not be built until the 18th and 19th century respectively. In the 18th century, it became an object of Savoyard territorial expansion. They briefly held the city during the aforementioned succession war, but were forced to relinquish it. However, in 1733, they invaded once more with French support, and this time, the result was successful annexation. Novara has remained a part of Piemonte ever since. The Austrians would return once more: in 1849, during the First Italian War of Independence, the failed first attempt by the Savoys to unite Italy by conquest. In fact, the Battle of Novara was the final act of the war: having been repeatedly defeated by the Austrians, King Charles Albert sued for peace and then abdicated.
Novara finally lost its military importance following the early stages of Italian unification in 1859, which helped spur a long period of industrialization and rapid economic and population growth. Aside from decades of slower development in the interbellum, this era lasted until the 1970s. In addition to the now-declining industry, its location on the main route from Milano to Torino means it serves both as a commuter hub for the former and as a logistical centre. In sports, it is most notable for being the birthplace of Giuseppe Saronni, who parlayed a ridiculously good early career (two Giri with an eventual 24 stage wins, the Worlds, Sanremo and Lombardia, all of those bar two Giro stages by age 25) into steep decline from age 26 onwards and then a long stint as an increasingly dubious team manager at Lampre.
(picture by Francisco Anzola at Wikimedia Commons)
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram