San Salvatore Telesino City Trophy

A new race for youth cycling in the Sannio region

The San Salvatore Telesino City Trophy was launched in 2026 and immediately established itself as one of the most exciting opportunities for youth cycling in Campania. The event brings slim wheels to the center of San Salvatore Telesino, a small town in the province of Benevento overlooking the Telesina Valley, transforming the village streets into a racing theater for a day: traffic-free roads, barriers, families on the sidewalks, and team cars in tow.

The race name directly honors the community hosting it. The Municipality of San Salvatore Telesino regulated the day with mayoral ordinance no. 17/2026, which provided for temporary parking bans with forced removal and the suspension of vehicular traffic along the race route: a bureaucratic detail that highlights how much the entire town is involved in the event.

The route: two circuits in the town center

The chosen format is the city circuit, best suited for an audience that wants to see the riders pass by multiple times. The track consists of two loops: a short one of 2.9 kilometers and a long one of 4.9 kilometers, reserved for the final part of the race.

• Esordienti: 9 laps of the short circuit plus 1 lap of the long circuit.
• Allievi: 12 laps of the short circuit plus 3 laps of the long circuit.

The meeting point for participants is set in Piazza Salvatore Pacelli, while the start is given from Piazza Nazionale, in the heart of the center. Those who want to follow the race can stay comfortably in the square and watch all the passes, or walk along the loop to change their viewpoint.

Race categories and competitive value

The Trophy is dedicated to young members of the Italian Cycling Federation: the Esordienti (first and second year) and Allievi categories. The event is included in the FCI Giornata Azzurra and is valid as a round of the Regional Championship of Campania, in addition to being part of the Memorial Crescenzo D'Amore and Ciclisti Oggi e Domani youth circuits. A package of titles and rankings that explains why teams from not only Campania, but also other regions of Central-South Italy, show up at the start.

The first edition, July 2026

The inaugural race was held on Sunday, July 12, 2026, and produced three verdicts. Among the Allievi, over the 49.3-kilometer race, Gabriele Leo (CAMB!KE) won at an average speed of 34 km/h. In the first-year Esordienti, over a distance of 22.4 kilometers, victory went to Samuele Lombardi (HG Cycling Team). In the second-year Esordienti, a 29-kilometer race, the fastest was Vincenzo Vito (Team Cesaro-Neri-Lucchini). Selected groups and few finishers in each category: a sign of a nervous race, with the circuit quickly thinning the field.

San Salvatore Telesino and the Telesina Valley

San Salvatore Telesino has just over four thousand inhabitants and stands at an altitude of 95 meters, in one of the most fertile areas of the Benevento Sannio. It is the town that guards the ruins of ancient Telesia — walls, amphitheater, aqueduct, and Roman baths — along the road leading to Telese Terme, and borders Castelvenere, Faicchio, Puglianello, San Lorenzello, and Amorosi, a mosaic of municipalities known for wine and summer festivals. Racing here means crossing a landscape of vineyards and olive groves enclosed by the Matese and Taburno mountains.

How to experience the day

For enthusiasts, the formula is simple: arrive in the morning, find a spot along the circuit, and enjoy the close-up passes. For families, the Trophy is also an opportunity to show children a real race, with peers competing. Around the event, the town offers its bars and trattorias, in an area where local cuisine and the wines of the Telesina Valley — starting with the whites and reds of Sannio — deserve a stop after the finish.