Champions, marketing and worldwide live TV: the Tour of the Alps keeps on rising

This year, more than ever, the Tour of the Alps is not satisfied with being just a great sporting event. The 47th edition of the stage race – a symbol of Euro-regional cooperation between Trentino, Südtirol/Alto Adige, and Tirol, taking place from April 15 to 19, 2024 – will start from Neumarkt/Egna, Südtirol/Alto Adige, and finish in Levico Terme, in Trentino, where the most anticipated protagonists were disclosed today, Wednesday, April 3, along with the TV distribution that will take the Tour of the Alps to over 100 Countries, as well as the varied panel of partners, initiatives and side events that will enrich this edition.

Since its inception in 2017, when it took over the baton from the Giro del Trentino, the #TotA has been a driving force for the fundamental values of the territories to which it belongs, while asserting itself as a sporting event capable of highlighting the beauty of cycling, a sport that loves to be embraced by the warmth and passion of its fans. The Tour of the Alps has also established itself as a forward-looking laboratory of innovation in the world of cycling: the race organized by GS Alto Garda pioneered into the format of short and intense stages that has proven to be the perfect setting for the new generations of champions in this age of cycling to shine. 

TWO HOURS OF DAILY LIVE TV COVERAGE ON EUROSPORT
The new multi-year agreement with Infront Sports & Media involving media and marketing rights, as well as the audiovisual production of the event, has given a further boost to the Tour of the Alps, extending its already significant international TV coveraqe.

The Euro-regional event will be broadcast live for two hours each day, with Eurosport bringing the live race signal of the race across the European continent, theAsia/Pacific area, and Central and South America.

Italian fans will be able to watch the race also on Rai, whilst for the first time ever, the Tour of the Alps will be broadcast live by Austrian state broadcaster ORF. The #TotA will also be broadcast by Basque EITB, while L'Équipe will diffuse the signal the event in France, Monaco, and Andorra, like in previous years.

Live coverage of the Tour of the Alps in the United States, Canada and Australia will be on FloSports frequencies, while DirecTV (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) and RTVC (Colombia) will bring the #TotA show to South American fans. EBU News will also distribute images from the Tour of the Alps to news programmes across Europe.

THOMAS AND BARDET ON THE HUNT FOR AN ENCORE
No less than 9 of the 18 teams that on Monday, April 15, will take the start from Neumarkt/Egna belong to the UCI World Tour category. The team’s list is completed by 7 Professional teams, the Austrian national team and the interesting novelty JCL Team UKYO, the Japanese Continental team founded by former Formula One driver Ukyo Katayama.

Among the top athletes announced are Frenchman Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich) and Welshman Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers), who are both chasing an encore, having won the 2022 and 2017 editions respectively. Thomas, winner of the 2018 Tour de France and runner-up in the last Giro d'Italia, is a regular in the Euro-regional race: alongside him in the ranks of INEOS Grenadiers will be Filippo Ganna, another big name who has chosen the Euregio stage race as an important crossroads of his Olympic season.

Ganna's presence raises the level of the Italian contingent, which also counts on Bahrain-Victorious’ youngsters Antonio Tiberi – sharting leader’s duties at the #TotA with veteran Wout Poels – and former Italian National Champion Filippo Zana (Jayco-Alula), who showcased his climbing skills on the roads of Trentino just a year ago at the Giro d'Italia. Not to forget the 20-year-old Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani), who finished second in the last Tour de l'Avenir and came close to winning a stage in Predazzo in the last Tour of the Alps.

Among the most awaited riders are Aussie Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R), who made himself known to the general cycling public with his victory in Meran/Merano at the 2018 Tour of the Alps, and German Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), an all-rounder rider with strong climbing skills, winner of a stage in each of the last two #TotA editions, in Niederdorf/Villabassa in 2022, and last year in the queen stage to Brentonico-San Valentino. Brit Hugh Carthy (EF Education Easy-Post), overall second in the last edition, and Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez, leader of Lidl-Trek, who wore the pink jersey for ten days in the 2022 Giro d'Italia, are also among the top contenders.

TOTA’S GRAND FINALE IN TRENTINO, AMIDST THE MOUNTAINS OF VALSUGANA
With the arrival of the fourth stage in Borgo Valsugana and the fifth and final stage starting and finishing in Levico Terme, Trentino and Valsugana will host the decisive days of the Tour of the Alps.

This year, the Tour of the Alps will experience its queen stage on Thursday, April 18, with a course that starts in Leifers/Laives in Südtirol/Alto Adige, and ends in Borgo Valsugana after 141.3 km and nearly 4,000 meters of elevation gain. The riders will face San Lugano Pass and Redebus Pass, followed by a long descent towards Zivignano. Stage 4 then offers two first category KOMs: the Compet Pass (10.2 km at 8.3%) and the Vetriolo Pass (9.4 km at 8.7%) tackled from a challenging and unprecedented side, along the so-called "Strada dei Baiti". From the 1,493 meters of the Vetriolo Pass, the highest peak of the 2024 Tour of the Alps, the descent into the valley begins, interrupted by the last climb of the day: Colle San Marco. From the summit of this final climb, it is only 9 kilometers left to the finish in Borgo Valsugana.

On Friday, April 19, the last stage of the Tour of the Alps, with start and finish in Levico Terme, will have a reduced mileage (118.6 km) but numerous rough edges that can mix up the values on the field. The initial part is characterized by a first circuit with two passages on the finish line in Levico Terme. This is followed by a second circuit of about 25 km to be repeated twice, characterized by the double ascent of Palù del Fersina (12.5 km at 6.2%). At the end of the second descent, a few kilometers of flat land precede the last stretch of the race, the Tenna pass, followed by a slight slope that ends about 5 km from the end. Most of these are downhill, but the last throbbing thousand meters uphill in the center of Levico Terme have all the characteristics to offer a finale worthy of the Tour of the Alps.

LONG-TIME PARTNERS AND NEW FRIENDS: THE #TOTA TEAM KEEPS GROWING
Another area of impact of the new partnership with Infront is a reinforced and revamped panel of partners, in which several new realities have come to join long-tenured friends of the Tour of the Alps. 

Brands from Trentino will show off from three of the leader’s jerseys: Melinda and Gruppo Cassa Centrale, historical partners and sponsors respectively of the Green Jersey (General Classification) and of the Blue Jersey (King of the Mountain Classification), have been joined by DAO Conad, sponsoring he Red Jersey (Points Classification). Würth will be the sponsor of the White Jersey (Youth Classification). Just like in the two previous seasons, Alé Cycling has crafted the style of the #TotA official jerseys.

Among the Premium Sponsors, Subito.it and TicketOne are joining fellow significant brands such as Sportler and Suzuki, as a testament of #TotA’s increasing popularity, even outside the two-wheel sector.

Leading tire brand Vittoria will also provide neutral assistance with its Servizio Corse with 3 cars and 1 motorbike, all equipped with bicycles and wheels fitting Vittoria Corsa PRO tires, is part of the Silver Sponsors along with three new partners Birra Forst, Diavolina and Howden Group.

Trentino, and more precisely the Cembra Valley, is also home to the official wines of the race, protagonists of all the #TotA awarding ceremonies and social events. The group of Official Suppliers includes Omegor (sports integration) and Acqua Eva, while the institutional partnership with the Euroregional logistics backbone continues with the A22 Brenner Highway.

Media Partner La Gazzetta dello Sport remains on the #TotA side, as well as Official Radio VivaFM.

More novelties of the 2024 Tour of the Alps are also related to marketing:.the first one is the Bike Experience promoted by Infront, an exclusive three-day event organized in collaboration with the #TotA on the Weinstraße/Strada del Vino; the second is the Top Ride promoted by the Tour of the Alps on the morning of the last stage, an exclusive event for prominent personalities and former champions, an initiative to create and consolidate new synergies and connections.

One of the protagonists of this year’s Tour of the Alps is Daniel Oss, official ambassador of the #TotA and an important added value to this edition: the Italian athlete from Trentino will collaborate with the marketing and communication areas, bringing his style, charisma, and unique tone of voice to the Euroregional race.

BEYOND THE RACE: THE SIDE EVENTS
The Tour of the Alps is to be among people, to bring its spectacle and values to the cities, towns, and territories of the Euregio and to involve not only enthusiasts but the entire population in a special and shared event.

In recent weeks, the Community Ride in the Bolzano headquarters of Sportler and the Bike Day organized in Bozen/Bolzano for a Serie B football match hosted by FC Südtirol have brought the Tour of the Alps closer to its public.

On Sunday, May 14, the Würth Italian HQ will host a day full of entertainment, music, guests, street food and activities for families in Egna/Neumarkt, culminating in the most anticipated moment of the day: the official teams’ presentation at 5 pm.

Each day of the race, the stage committees – in collaboration with the #TotA promotion area – will propose initiatives for the public: cycling, history, local specialties, and fun activities will be the common threads of a very rich panel of events.

In particular, the final days in Trentino will see two additional special events. On the occasion of the queen stage from Leifers/Laives to Borgo Valsugana, on Thursday, April 18, there will be and Experiential Bike Tour on Lagorai (registrations at the APT Valsugana in Levico Terme); while on Friday, April 19, the day of the last stage, Levico Terme will host a School- class training reserved for 40 students of the Istituto Tecnico Floriani from Riva del Garda.

Furthermore, on Monday, April 8 will start the third edition of the #LiveUphill Challenge, the virtual challenge on the Tour of the Alps routes, hosted on the ROUVY platform and organized in collaboration with ENDU.

The challenge will end on Sunday, May 5: an experience to be enjoyed just like the real one, on the roads of Tirol, Südtirol/Alto Adige and Trentino as well as in reality. On the platform, it will be possible to tackle the last kilometers of all five stages and virtually rediscover the beauties and slopes that will characterize the Tour of the Alps. Those who manage to complete the five stages by the end of the challenge will have the opportunity to enter the draw to win special prizes from the Tour of the Alps.

TV COVERAGE

EUROSPORT/DISCOVERY EUROPE
Europe: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
Asia-Pacific: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
Central/South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico.

RAI: Italy, San Marino, Vatican City.

FLOSPORTS: USA, Canada, Australia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands.

L'EQUIPE: France, Andorra, Monaco.

ORF: Austria.

DIRECTV: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.

RTVC: Colombia.

EITB: Spain.

QUOTES

Francesca Gerosa, Vice-President and Sports Commissioner of the Autonomous Province of Trento: “The Tour of the Alps is one of those projects where tourism and sport are a perfect match, where their goals, intentions and passion for organizing events coincide. Once again, Trentino is a catalyst for major sporting events that bring our territory into the homes of many people. Behind an event of this scale and scope, there is an enormous amount of energy and synergy that is alive all year round. The great role of volunteering should not be forgotten, not only at events but also in youth sports clubs, because it is thanks to volunteers that our children discover and grow a passion for sport."

Maurizio Rossini, Trentino Marketing CEO: “The Tour of the Alps keeps growing on the solid alliance among its territories, keeping the mountain and the bike as its core values. #TotA bolsters sport and tourism, enhancing the use of the bike beside its competitive side, in order to promote sustainable mobility and healthy lifestyle. In 2024, we are glad to bring to the fans the beauty of the Valsugana area, with plenty of activities and attractions all year long.”

Niccolò Mornati, Summer Sports Director for Infront Italy: “Starting our collaboration with GS Alto Garda, we have developed a new a new marketing plan, and have focused on creating collateral events and opportunities, such as the Infront Bike Experience. This approach has led to the consolidation of sponsorships in recent years and the involvement of new brands that will give strong impact and visibility to the event. On the media rights side, in addition to the renewed partnership with Rai on Italian territory, we will be able to count on global exposure in 100 Countries, including USA, Australia, all European territories and South America, with a 50% increase compared to the last edition. These figures show the progression in the event’s positioning, both at the national and international level”.

Giacomo Santini, GS Alto Garda President: “Thanks to its enthusiastic, cultural and sportive soul, the Tour of the Alps got three very different territories to work together, giving life to what was only a geopolitical dream, and put the Euroregion on the map”. 

Maurizio Evangelista, Tour of the Alps GM: “The extended panel of side initiatives complies with our vision of going beyond a sport event, and brings the fans the chance to experience these territories to the fullest. The growth of this aspect of the Tour of the Alps represents the ever-increasing effort of the Organizing Committee”