Between September 9-11, the Italian Bike Festival (IBF) is taking place for the first time this year at the Misano World Circuit in North West Italy. With less than two months to go to the expo, the schedule is filling up.
The show’s organising team points to a rich programme of events plus 500 brands exhibiting. Aiming to be more than just a regular expo, there will be a slew of B2B meetings, a tourism sector village and a long list of racing opportunities.
“We are extremely satisfied with the progress made so far in the run-up to the fifth edition of the IBF and we are also proud of the many activities being offered as part of the festival,” said Lucrezia Sacchi of Taking Off, the show organising firm.
“Our visitors will never be in any danger of getting bored between testing out new products, events and initiatives. In fact, we believe that one day won’t be enough for bike enthusiasts to see everything new being presented at the IBF.”
The organisers add that visitors to the Italian Bike Festival will be active protagonists in the three days of activities as well as being able to enjoy the La Gialla Cycling competitions as spectators and fans, both inside the Misano World Circuit and in the Romagna hills around the location.
The Bike Show Arena will host shows, activities and contests, while the Skills Pumptrack will be available for open-to-all free testing sessions. The Bike Show Arena will also be featuring riders from a variety of disciplines including BMX, dirt, enduro and trial, who will be showcasing their skills over the course of the weekend.
Bike touring fans will also find an entire section devoted to them: Expo Bici Turismo is a fair within a fair for bike tourism. Here, Italy’s regions, localities, tour operators and bike hotels will be showcasing a wide range of offerings.
The jewel in the Expo Bici Turismo crown will be the Emilia-Romagna Region, which has offered the Italian Bike Festival support since its first edition and has ‘always been particularly aware of bike tourism.’ The area dedicated to tourism will feature contributions from APT Servizi Emilia-Romagna and Visit Romagna.
As visitors explore the 80,000 square metres plus of exhibition space, they will also get opportunities to meet their sporting heroes as a ‘long list of athletes and high-profile personalities from the bike world have confirmed they will be attending the event.’
The official list of participants will also be released in advance of the opening of the IBF, once the organisers have confirmation of the times they will be visiting the various stands.
Visitors that want to try out bikes first-hand will have the whole of the iconic Misano World Circuit at their disposal.
Show visitors can also put mountain, cyclocross and gravel bikes through their paces at the Shimano Off-Road Arena, which winds its way through a flat track area and an adjacent hill. The Misano World Circuit international track itself, however, will be given over entirely to road bike testing.
