Cycling (but also swimming and running) on ​​the Mugello hills, the spectacular Ironlake-Corriere.it is back

Look for Africa and find Barberino di Mugello. When it is necessary to explain the concept of serendipit – that term which indicates the opportunity to find something unexpected while looking for something else – the example of Christopher Columbus is usually used: he aimed for the Indies, he reached America. TO Michele Parpajola, organizer of triathlon competitions for twenty years, including the Tricolore di medio on May 28th on Lake Bilancino, in the province of Florence, luck has played an equally suggestive joke. Last March, during a trip to Senegal, he recognized a child wearing the Ironlake 2013 event shirt, the Barberino Triathlon, an event that the Asd Trievolution Sport Eventi whose president has been staging since 2004 – first on an Olympic distance and since 2010 also on average – and which, skipped only in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, will celebrate 18 candles this year. Parpajola underlines that after 2012, 2013 and 2014, for the fourth time Ironlake Mugello (www.ironlake.it) will be the Italian Middle School Championship, assigning the absolute individual, lite category and Age group titles as well as absolute team titles, but over the years the location has also hosted the aquathlon Tricolor and, in 2022, the Olympic one, and is recognized for the value of its routes, especially the cycling one, even among foreign athletes. But the international nature of the event does not seem to be limited to this: accidentally finding a bit of Ironlake even in Africa gave me a strong emotion: top-level sporting events also exist thanks to the contribution of volunteers. For years we have been availing ourselves, among others, of the precious help of Senegalese boys who live in Florence, whom we pay homage with our t-shirts. The t-shirt I found in Abn, in southern Senegal, which left Barberino in 2013. The boy I met was brought by his brother: I guess one of our collaborators at the time.

The axis with Africa

In short, from Barberino to Senegal, it almost seems like a moment. It will also be due to the geographical position of Ironlake, a race with an Italo-centric location, more balanced than competitions in Northern Italy, easily accessible and, therefore, also strategic for those triathlon enthusiasts who come from Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Campania – usually more disadvantaged, uncomfortable from which to start towards the goals of the other Italian Championships -, without, moreover, placing too much in the South, to the discontent of the many athletes from the north. And a location where the Tricolors are now at home, thanks to technical and spectacular courses, could not but be prestigious also from a historical and cultural point of view, as underlined by the logo of the event itself, conceived as part of a federal project by the broader, which this year has given a new uniform graphic design to all twelve competitions that assign Italian titles of specialties: A coordinated image, guarantee of quality and safety for the participants: another important step towards ever closer collaboration between the federation, the best organizations and the particularly evocative territories that host the events that characterize our wonderful sport, he commented the president of Fitri Riccardo Giubilei. Parpajola is thrilled with the result for the Tuscan race: The logo that the Italian Triathlon Federation has dedicated to us represents the tower of the Cafaggiolo Castle, in Barberino del Mugello, a 14th-century Medici villa. A leap into the most glorious past for a historic event that returns to being the Italian Championship and whose distinctive feature is that it is immersed in the heart of Tuscany, amidst art, history and culture, for a transversal experience, priceless both for athletes and for the chaperones.

From rowing to triathlon

And if sport also serves to enhance the territory, that of Barberino and its Bilancino lake is an exemplary story. The swimming leg of the race on 28 May – 1,900 m in a single lap, with the particularity of a start directly from the water while the public throngs on the pedestrian bridge that overlooks the starting channel – will take place as usual in this reservoir that the largest artificial lake in Tuscany was created, as Parpajola recalls, both to limit the risk of flooding in the event of flooding of the Arno, and to meet the water needs of Florence and Prato in the event of a drought. Initially it was thought it could become a national rowing center and the region in the past had moved in this direction with good initiatives. But what then had the merit of transforming this basin into a place of international level sport, positively exploiting its potential, was the triathlonwhich has supplanted the canoe, becoming the driving force behind the promotion of Lake Bilancino, in Italy and abroad, as the president of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani, first councilor for sport of the Municipality of Florence and president of Coni, has always acknowledged. But if Ironlake always attracts many enthusiasts then thanks to the hilly route on two wheels, the true strength of the race, which winds along the Tuscan Apennines over four laps, for a total of 82 km, allowing you to savor the sporting history that is here written, on the roads where a cycling legend such as Gastone Nencini trained, a native of Barberino del Mugello and winner, between the 1950s and 1960s, of a Giro d’Italia and a Tour de France.

Sample advice

The advice of the champion Each of the four laps that make up the 82 km bike track (here on Strava) brings with it 360 m of difference in altitude, for a total of 1,500 m, with a very pedalable climb towards Montecarelli and a technical descent, for a eat and drink capable of satisfying the most demanding cyclists. Regarding the choice of vehicle, for those who also have the time trial one available, here are the indications of Alessandro Degasperia great professional of this sport, after the reconnaissance of the track in anticipation of his participation and that of his DoloTeam companions, present to try to defend the team title: In my opinion, athletes who are familiar with the time trial bike can certainly make good use of it in many sections. I would rather make a reflection on the type of wheels to use. When I tested the track there was a lot of wind and I found myself better with a front profile of about 40 rather than 55/60. For the rear, I don’t see any major problems, apart from taking the weight into consideration. A beautiful route that is rightly challenging, with a 9 km climb and some steep stretches towards the end, and a rather technical descent, which naturally predisposes to the no draft, the true soul of the medium distance, greatly facilitating control by the wake judges – prohibited here by regulation -, almost eliminating the penalties. Thanks to the technical collaboration of Degasperi, who redesigned the route together with the organizers, the 21 km run includes the novelty of three 7 km laps inside the park along the lake, instead of the classic four-lap multi-lap: a more fluid test on foot, which winds along entirely pedestrian streets, on a very compact and almost totally flat mixed terrain of asphalt and dirt. It is still possible to participate: registrations close on May 18th.