The Pink Jersey, an icon of sport and local beauty
Giro 101
It was a pink-tinted day in the Capital. On Sunday, 27 May, the passion the Giro d'Italia always arouses turned Rome pink for the day as it played host to the final parade of the 101st Giro.
This year the Maglia Rosa (Pink Jersey), of which we are the official sponsor, was won by British rider Chris Froome. He started as favourite, struggled to defend himself in the early stages of the race after a fall and then made a spectacular comeback with the support of his entire team to conquer the “Kaiser,” as the gruelling Monte (Mount) Zoncolan climb in Friuli’s Carnic Alps is known. Froome then went on to clinch the Giro with a triumphant solo ride on the penultimate Alpine climb on the Colle delle Finestre between Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, repeating the historic feat that nearly 70 years ago put Fausto Coppi’s name in the history books.
The winner was welcomed at the finish line on Rome’s Via dei Fori Imperiali by the Enel logo, which has also featured on the Maglia Rosa for the last three years. He was joined on the podium by our own CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace who presented the British cyclist with his prize.
A partnership based on values
Three years of shared passion and commitment that saw the Giro d’Italia’s historic core values intersect with those of our company: a connection with people and the local area, respect for the environment, the energy of professionals that put their hearts and minds into every single push of the pedals. A sporting parade accompanied by focus, training, teamwork and feats that leave their mark. All values that flank both ourselves in our work and are the symbol of this gruelling but seductive cycling competition: the Maglia Rosa.
From Catania to Rome: a journey of discovery of sustainability in practice
The Giro 101 started from Israel, reviving a tradition begun in the 1960s of taking the race outside Italian borders. In all it covered just shy of 3,563 kilometres, traversing Italy’s natural and artistic heritage, from Sicily to the Alps and all the way to the Capital. A route along which we were able to highlight the roots and stories that connect our company with the area, a case in point being the Enel Green Power technology hub in the shadow of Mount Etna in Catania where we design and make new generation solar panels. Staying on the innovation trail, we come to Ferrara where, in partnership with Bonifiche Ferraresi, we created Europe’s first sustainable and smart agricultural district. Continuing north towards the Alps, we encounter the renewable energy generated by the EGP hydroelectric stations set in the great outdoors. Not forgetting either, Italy’s heart and the initiatives for the areas so badly devastated by the 2017 earthquake.
Kilometres of road on which we have also committed ourselves to creating a widespread charging network for electric vehicles through our new Enel X division, with the aim of creating a new, concrete, accessible-to-all model of sustainable mobility in our country.
We met with many local companies with whom we are working on developing innovative solutions, such as Ares2T, a Roman e-mobility-focused startup, MAC, which specialises in designing charging columns in the medieval town of Recanati, Cobat, the national collection and recycling consortium with which we share an electric vehicle battery reuse project, and Astelav which gives used electric appliances a new lease of life. Myriad new possible business models inspired by the principles of the Circular Economy
Energies that regenerate and gather strength from collaboration and sharing. The same energies that saw Froome cross the finish line in Rome in the Pink Jersey with all his teammates.
In innovation terms, the 101st Giro d’Italia’s final balance also extends to the debut of the Giro E: the first e-bike race to retrace the route of the Giro d’Italia. An “electric” competition that also saw a team sporting the colours of its title sponsor, Enel X, reach the podium.
Our three years of partnership with RCS Sport, which organises the Giro d'Italia, have been filled with passion and enthusiasm, an experience which will help us to grow and bring energy to the entire nation.