Less than three months before the expected start, the local institutions and bodies together with the Organising Committee greeted the arrival of the 95th edition of the FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE).
On Monday 14 June, hosted by the Municipal Administration in the Palazzo del Broletto overlooking the central Piazza della Vittoria in Pavia, the Welcome Six Days presentation event took place, which officially opened the final phase approaching the race and all the initiatives connected to it.
Within the walls of the courtyard of the 12th-century building located near the city’s Cathedral, the organisers of the 2021 ISDE met with the local authorities, institutions and the press to present the world event, the collaborative aspects and the opportunities generated by the presence of a such an event. Well beyond its high sporting and technical content, will provide an interesting contribution to the area called to welcome athletes, professionals, industries and motorcycle manufacturers, public and press from all corners of the globe.
The presentation was opened by pre-recorded contributions by the president of CONI Giovanni Malagò, and by Antonio Rossi, former Olympic and world canoeist, today Undersecretary with responsibility for Sport, 2026 Olympic Games and major events of the Lombardy Region. Particularly heartfelt and engaging was the video from the president of the FMI, Giovanni Copioli, who, as an enthusiastic enduro rider, retraced the path of the assignment and preparation of this year’s Six Days in Italy; a long journey, interrupted only temporarily by the pandemic, and now resumed with rediscovered and renewed vigour.
Senator Gian Marco Centinaio, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the Mayor of Pavia Fabrizio Fracassi, the Lombardy Regional Councillor Roberto Mura, and the Pavese Councillor Pietro Trivi with responsibility for sport and security took the stage of the Welcome Six Days event.
Senator Centinaio, from Pavia and a motorcyclist, welcomed with pleasure the arrival of the great event in the Pavia and Alessandria area, thus opened his long speech “First of all I want to thank all the people who have been working for more than a year on the realisation of this event. It is necessary to know how to recognise the importance of the sporting event, but in addition to sport there is a part of tourism, hospitality and territorial marketing. This is a year of relaunch, and the Province of Pavia has all the credentials to make itself known nationally and internationally, it is the moment in which the area must demonstrate what we are able to achieve by teaming up all together. ”
The Mayor of Pavia Fabrizio Fracassi, welcoming the Administration, said: “Hosting the Six Days of Enduro is a dream come true and one that, as Administration, we have worked for a long time. Bringing to Pavia what can be considered, in all respects, the enduro Olympics is in fact an exceptional opportunity, both from a sporting point of view and for the promotion of the territory. We are talking about a competition between 35 national federations, coming from four continents. There is great, great satisfaction. Make an appointment on 28 August, in Castello Visconteo, for the opening ceremony. Of course, come on Italy! We have to win.”
The intervention of Councilor Mura, also from Pavia and a passionate motorsport practitioner, explored the regulatory aspects that directly concern motoring practice in harmony with the area, both in the Lombardy and Piedmont Region and at national level, reaffirming his commitment and his willingness to work alongside the ISDE organisers for the best outcome of the event while respecting and promoting the territory itself.
The Councilor Pietro Trivi, underlined the commitment of the entire Administration in the desire to welcome with the utmost availability and collaboration an event that will be able to bring very high sporting contents and motoring tradition to the area, cutting the ribbon right among the beauties of the historic centre of Pavia with the opening parade.
The presentation continued with the screening of the official video and other speeches.
The three members of the Organising Committee, Valter Carbone, Edoardo Zucca and Giorgio Bandoli, reported on the state of the work with a forecast of the expected numbers in terms of audience, participants, as well as on the infrastructures and services deployed for the event. Particular attention on the part of the committee in illustrating the administrative procedure followed and the activity in progress with the Comunità Montana Oltrepò Pavese in a technical worktable started some time ago for the optimisation of the paths and of every aspect in relation to the current regulations and in full respect of the area.
The councillor of Rivanazzano Terme Romano Ferrari with the mayor Marco Poggi told of the enthusiasm with which the Oltrepò spa centre wanted to take up the challenge of hosting an event of such great importance and international appeal.
The first citizen of the municipality of Monleale (AL), Paola Massa, brought the greeting and welcome of Val Curone to the event, underlining the close bond between sport and health related to tourism and leisure.
The mayor of Fortunago Pier Achille Lanfranchi, already present in Portimao in November 2019 with the councillor Mura and the councillor Trivi at the presentation of this 95th ISDE, reiterated the importance of the event in terms of tourist attractiveness.
The director of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese, Carlo Veronese, grasping the value of the event as a world showcase, noted the happy union between the Oltrepò and Val Curone hills where the winemaking tradition is a rich heritage and, also on the thrust of collaboration in the context of ISDE, it can be the driving force of teamwork between the two provinces. The director Veronese has among other things announced that the Consortium will be the official sponsor of the event.
The extraordinary commissioner of the Pavia Chamber of Commerce, Giovanni Merlino, closed the speeches by bringing his greetings to an event that is already showing good results and can represent a further impulse to restart for many sectors, indicating among other things that the local hotels are registering a high number of bookings for the dates of the event and immediately preceding it.
On 14 June 14 at Palazzo Broletto Pavia were present for this first Welcome Six Days presentation the directors of the most important two-wheeled newspapers, television channels, as well as numerous reporters from local newspapers and many other representatives of organisations and institutions.
The 2021 ISDE countdown clock now seems to run even faster: the FIM International Six Days of Enduro is preparing to once again bring top-level sport to an area ready for the best possible welcome.
