What it really takes is a country where bicycle road racing has been capturing the hearts and minds of the people for more than a century. Where normal life stops during the Giro d'Italia. Where an Italian winning the Tour de France prevents a civil war. Where every town has its own yearly crit race and its own champions. Where people still get misty-eyed whenever Fausto Coppi's name is mentioned.

That is what makes that 8,000 L'Eroica tickets are sold out within hours and that hundreds of volunteers work really hard to organize a great event every year and keep smiling broadly while they're at it.