storia-index - gpliberazione

Our story, as is well known, starts from afar. From that April 25, 1946, even before the Referendum of June 2 and 3 marked the advent of the Republic.
On that April 25, 1946, the first anniversary of the Liberation of Italy from Nazi-Fascism was celebrated, and Rome was still filled with the rubble and mourning of war. There was already, however, a great desire to rebuild and erase a very sad past.
When bike lanes were still far from being invented, the bicycle itself was first a tool for work, then for fun, and finally for sport. On that April 25, 1946, a cycling race was held that over time became much more than a sporting event, a true institution, indissolubly linked to the deep meaning of its name and its day on the calendar. The race took place around the Baths of Caracalla, along a unique route in the world, passing through Porta Ardeatina, Porta San Paolo, and the Pyramid.
That first edition was 80 kilometers long: Gustavo Guglielmetti won, covering the 80 kilometers in 2h 09' 16'' at an average speed of 37.5 km/h, decidedly high considering the roads and materials of the time. The first editions were organized with the collaboration of the A.N.P.I. (National Association of Italian Partisans) and under the patronage of Corriere dello Sport, the sports daily of the Capital. In the following years, the Gran Premio della Liberazione found a home in another newspaper, l’Unità, which set up a society – Gruppo Sportivo l’Unità – exclusively dedicated to organizing the race.

Years later, another transition: l’Unità handed over the baton to Velo Club Primavera Ciclistica. The soul and body of these two organizations was journalist Eugenio Bomboni, who projected the Gran Premio della Liberazione onto an international stage. It was his idea to closely link sport and history with the laying, by the race winner, of a laurel wreath on the plaque at Porta San Paolo commemorating the partisan struggle.
It was also Bomboni’s idea to involve great painters. Many important artists, inspired by the Gran Premio della Liberazione, have donated their works: Empedocle Amato, Enrico Benaglia, Gianpaolo Berto, Ennio Calabria, Sandro Chia, Ettore De Conciliis, Elvo Di Stefano, Fernando Farulli, Sebastian Mattia, Giacomo Porzano, Aligi Sassu, Alberto Sughi are just some of the painters who have enriched the art collection of the Velo Club Primavera Ciclistica.

In the 1960s, the Gran Premio della Liberazione was the first race in the world to host national teams from Eastern Europe when athletes from those countries were forbidden from turning professional in order to remain fully within the Olympic sphere, a sector reserved for amateurs until 1992. For this reason, the 1960 edition saw the participation of many foreign riders, who came to Rome to "train" on the Olympic course.
The “Liberazione” can boast a true vocation for hosting foreign teams, from Argentina to Australia. There are few nations that have not entered their athletes in the Gran Premio.
The international nature of the race has earned it the nickname “Spring World Championship.” And this is not just pure rhetoric, as the Baths of Caracalla circuit, very complex and particularly selective, ensures that whoever wins the race gets a professional contract starting from the following season.

For this reason, and to offer more opportunities to participating teams, from 1976 to 2009 and always thanks to Eugenio Bomboni, the Velo Club Primavera Ciclistica also organized 33 editions of the Giro delle Regioni, an international stage race. In an inseparable union with the Liberazione, the Giro delle Regioni began on April 26 (sometimes with a spectacular start on the evening of the 25th) and ended on May 1, Labor Day. This initiative was later joined by 16 editions of the Coppa delle Nazioni time trial, the Memorial Fausto Coppi, the Coppa dell’Adriatico, and three editions of the Giro d’Italia women’s race.

The last major transition took place in 1996, with the great change that revolutionized amateur sports. With the transformation of “amateurs” into “Under 23” and “Elite”: the Gran Premio della Liberazione became a race reserved for the Under 23 category, riders aged 19 to 23 who do not yet have a professional contract. Despite the change in form, the substance has not changed and the Liberazione has continued to be a sought-after event for those aiming to carve out a great place in professional cycling.

For many years now, the “home” of the Gran Premio della Liberazione has been the Baths of Caracalla Circuit, definitively approved for its historical value by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) as an exception to the regulation that requires a minimum length of 12 km for international circuit races. In some editions, the circuit was “extended” with passages in the last two laps only through Piazza del Campidoglio and Via dei Fori Imperiali (start and finish location).
This could be seen as a return to the past, with the aim of highlighting the efforts made by the City Administration to “liberate” the heart of the city from cars.

The Gran Premio della Liberazione was held continuously from 1946 to 2018 always on April 25, establishing itself as the most important cycling event in the Capital, the only competitive one after the relocation of the Memorial Romano Scotti of Cyclocross, rightfully ranking among the top 5 most important sporting events in Rome along with the Marathon, Formula E, and the International Tennis Championships.

The race has always been held under the aegis of the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Italian Cycling Federation, included in recent years in the UCI Europe Tour calendar, a circuit of cycling races held in Europe.
In step with the exponential growth of women’s cycling, the Gran Premio Liberazione, thanks to collaboration with Cicli Lazzaretti, has also been ready, for several seasons now, to host a professional women’s competition, the “Liberazione Pink,” won by stars of women’s cycling such as Letizia Paternoster and Marta Bastianelli (world, European, and Italian champion) who triumphed twice in front of the home crowd.

The health emergency linked to Covid-19 interrupted the organizational continuity of the event, which, however, resumed its run among the wonders of the Capital thanks to the arrival of fresh forces. At the end of 2020, in fact, Team Bike Terenzi acquired the rights to the GP Liberazione from Primavera Ciclistica, scheduling the organization of the 74th edition for April 25, 2021. With its president, Claudio Terenzi, the eponymous Bike team boasts significant successes in the Italian cycling scene both competitively and organizationally, such as the third stage of the Giro d’Italia Cyclocross in Ladispoli and the Italian Cyclocross Championships in Ostia Antica.
The 74th edition of the GP Liberazione, the first of the new era, saw the event program expand to include Junior and Allievi competitions. The Under 23 race was won by Michele Gazzoli.
In the 75th edition, among the Women, Silvia Persico’s triumph is worth mentioning, who in the following months would achieve podiums at the Women’s Tour de France and the World Championships in Wollongong. 2022 was also the year of the first edition of Bike4fun, the ecological ride that accompanies the competitive events of the event.

In 2023, Alessandro Romele won the Gran Premio Liberazione in the U23 category while the women’s race saw Silvia Zanardi triumph.
In 2024, Davide Donati of Biesse-Carrera crossed the finish line first in the U23 race, and the Italian national Chiara Consonni won the women’s competition.

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