Press release dated March 20, 2025
AT THE GHISALLO! Milan-Sanremo, the Vigorelli and the tribute to Anquetil
The Milan-Sanremo officially opens the season of the Grand Classics. It is the race that, for more than a century, has marked the beginning of cycling spring: almost 300 kilometers of history, hard work and legend, between the cold of the Lombard departure and the scent of the sea at the arrival on the Riviera dei Fiori. And it is precisely in these days, when world cycling finds itself recounting new exploits and old glories, that the Madonna del Ghisallo Cycling Museum confirms its role as custodian of the sport’s most authentic emotions.
The Museum reopened its doors on March 1, 2025, in perfect synchrony with the start of the cycling season, giving its visitors a day full of passion, stories and exceptional testimonials. Among the protagonists of the inauguration were Gianni Bugno, Claudio Chiappucci, Marino Vigna and Marco Giovannetti, who shared with the public anecdotes and memories related to “Grandi imprese del Ciclismo,” the book by Beppe Conti (Graphot publisher), capable of bringing to light the fascination of legendary challenges.
New enthusiasm and the wonders of Pogačar
Alongside them, Chiara Colombo, world champion in track para-cycling, brought her emotional testimony, “I touched the jerseys in Pogačar and my mom made me caress a historic pink jersey. I don’t know whose anymore. But it was very emotional, entering this museum makes the heart beat faster.” A heart that also beats fast thanks to the new additions to the collection, including the bicycle and the amarillo jersey with which Marco Giovannetti won the 1990 Vuelta a España, donated to the Museum just for the reopening.
But the real news that is making fans’ eyes sparkle is about Slovenian champion Tadej Pogačar: three of his iconic bicycles-the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and World Championships-are now on display at the Ghisallo Cycling Museum, along with their respective jerseys, thanks to a partnership with Colnago and the invaluable support of Manolo Bertocchi, the company’s Head of Strategy and Marketing.
The Museum’s 2025 season got off to a flying start, also enriched by memories in professional cycling of today and yesterday from Team Polti. The Museum celebrates this history with two special jerseys: the pink jersey from the Giro d’Italia Femminile won by Elisa Longo Borghini and a Team Polti Kometa 2024 jersey signed by the entire team. And from Polti’s glorious past also comes the bicycle with which Ivan Gotti won the 1999 Giro d’Italia hill climb time trial. There is no shortage of unique pieces that tell stories of friendship and sporting passion: thanks to Beppe Bergomi, the collection is enriched by the pink jersey worn by Miro Panizza in 1980.
Eddy Mercxk exhibition project kicks off
And if the Milan-Sanremo reminds us that cycling is challenge and legend, the Ghisallo Cycling Museum is preparing a season that honors the myth: at the end of April a major exhibition dedicated to Eddy Merckx, the champion of champions, who with seven victories in the Classicissima wrote indelible pages of cycling history, will be inaugurated. It will be a tribute to the most successful ever, capable of triumphing everywhere, from Sanremo to the Tour, from the Giro to Lombardia. For this special birthday a crucial fundraising campaign has been activated all information here at this link
Saturday March 29th tribute to Anquetil
The museum also follows the events that characterize the international cycling calendar. An exhibition space on the entrance platform will be dedicated precisely to Milan-Sanremo, with a thematic photo exhibition that will retrace the highlights of the Classicissima. And that’s not all: on Sunday, March 23, it will be time for the Vigorelli, the historic Milanese velodrome that is turning 90. A documentary edited by Gino Cervi will be screened nonstop in the Museum’s film library, along with RAI archive footage recounting the first race at the Vigorelli on March 24, 1935. On March 29, Jacques Anquetil will be celebrated, and expected at the Museum are his daughter Sophie, journalist Herbie Sykes in the company of Franco Balmamion and Gianni Motta; the initiative is by tireless cycling friend Bruno Astruc. The presence of journalist and historical writer Beppe Conti is also announced.
rhe Ghisallo Museum is not only a place of memory, but a laboratory of emotions, ready to welcome visitors, fans and families on a journey through the eras of cycling. Because, if Milan-San Remo reminds us that the most beautiful race is always the next one, at Ghisallo we discover that every finish line brings with it stories that never cease to excite.
