Maxime Bouet: "The Giro Dell'Emilia, a real climbers' classic
The Giro Dell’Emilia is a hilly race that ends with the ascent of the terrible San Luca Wall in Bologna.
Pre-race
“I have ridden the Giro Dell’Emilia a few times, but not that many, the initial part of the race offers about 150 kilometres of hard riding, and then the final part is extremely difficult with the San Luca climb to be completed five times. There are two bends and a straight line with a wall between 10 and 15% average speed. The first 150 kilometres already generate a kind of stress because the course is very tough, and as soon as you approach Bologna, the intensity and the pressure go up a notch. All the teams want to be in a good position before the first climb in order not to “blow a fuse”. You always have to be well placed on the circuit because after the wall, the course is technical and hilly at the same time, and you come back very quickly to the foot of the wall, which for me is similar to the one of Huy but in Italian version. The selection is done by the back in the placement, and in front for the best on the leg of course. It is a race that is known to be very difficult to finish”.
The briefing
“The Giro Dell’Emilia marks the start of the Italian semi-classic series, with the World Tour epilogue of the Giro di Lombardia, also known as the “leafy classic”, at the end of the week for Team Arkéa-Samsic. It is a race for climbers with the Cà Bortolani, the Paso Brasa, the Monte Luminasio and the Mur de San Luca to be ridden five times. There will be a lot of competition and we, team Arkéa-Samsic, will have Nairo Quintana in our team, surrounded by experienced riders like Winner Anacona, Lukasz Owsian, Elie Gesbert, Maxime Bouet, his brother Dayer and our trainee Yannis Voisard, who has shown great qualities since his arrival in our team, and above all, a collective spirit that he knows how to put at the service of his elders, including Nairo recently on the roads of the Eastern classics”.