“Eroica” already exists in Milan. And it is a nice place on Viale Tunisia that, for a few days, has been offering coffee to those who show up on bikes and that has maintained the style and the sign of the historic auto parts shop that it replaced: modern but, at the same time, respectful of what has been. Which is a bit of the secret of «Eroica», the cycling challenge born years ago in Tuscany in Gaiole in Chianti and that now, from Germany to California to South Africa to Cuba, is conquering the world. A magical alchemy. A «contamination» between history and future that at the start of the many Eroicas, but also at the tables of the Cafés, brings together different people, with different stories, different ages, different lives united by dreams and passions. «Eroica is like the Curva Sud in a stadium where very distant worlds find themselves embracing each other…» explains the president Nicola Rosin, which for about ten years has transformed this simple cycling challenge into a real “brand” that goes beyond the bicycle.
“Eroica is a lifestyle – he says – With a series of values ​​that stimulate the best feelings of people who rediscover the pleasure of being together as in a big family. And it is increasingly true also for young people who are very sensitive, for example, to a theme like sustainability which has always been one of the values ​​that Eroica has defended over time, starting with the dirt roads that have been a bulwark in respect and defense of the territory against concreting”. What counts is a word of mouth that in all these years has changed the “Eroica” dimension of a world that has been able to adapt to the times. And not only on bikes because, from Milan to Padua, the “Caffè” are being born which of Eroica are the perfect synthesis of a “third half” that continues once you get off the saddle. “The turning point came with the entry of Gaetano Totaro’s family – explains Rosin – We brought style and replicable products to the table with a 38-page protocol that summarizes our entire philosophy. We are ready to enter the restaurant business, we are just waiting for other cities to apply”. Places that, like in Milan in the project by architect Alessandro Milanese, reconstruct the atmosphere of village squares, of inns where people passed by and stopped just to meet up and chat, maybe about cycling. “Outposts” in defense of tradition, products, and typical local products, both Lombardy and Tuscany, where it all originated. “The classic Eroica with vintage bikes remains what it has always been, a fixed point – he explains Rosin– But now we are also focusing a lot on Nova Eroica, an open challenge for gravel bikes that are in great expansion, because they are a safe way of pedaling that allows you to stay away from busy roads, to have direct contact with nature, to insert a bit of competitive spirit into the challenge even if it is not in our DNA. And so it goes from Buonconvento, to Prosecco Hills up to Gran Sasso…». But pedaling an Eroica also in Milan, leaving the city with the cycle paths of the Naviglio to reach the wonders of the Abbey of Morimondo, of Villa Clerici in Cuggiono or of Piazza Ducale in Vigevano with the dirt roads of the Parco Sud, is the most fascinating project. «As we always do, we have to start with the people – explains Rosin – Of course it is an idea that can be caressed but above all it can be done…»