Defeating chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases, by addressing the root causes, through the promotion of healthier lifestyles, healthy nutrition, sports, and physical activity. This is the ambition of the international "Cities for Better Health" program, launched over 10 years ago globally and in Italy realized through a partnership between ANCI, Health City Institute, and Novo Nordisk, which this year has decided to strengthen its commitment, becoming the Health Partner of the Italian Regions Cup, the exciting challenge among athletes from the best Italian and international cycling teams, promoted and coordinated by the Professional Cycling League in collaboration with the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces.

«At Novo Nordisk, cycling has always played an important role: from creating the Novo Nordisk Team, the world's first professional cycling team entirely composed of riders with diabetes, to the recent international collaboration with the European Cyclists' Federation. This is not only because it is a sport of great values, but also because it is an emblem of a healthy life respecting the environment, in line with our vision», states Alfredo Galletti, Corporate Vice President & General Manager of Novo Nordisk Italia.

The Italian Regions Cup will take place from March 5 to October 19 with 21 stages for men and 10 for women, and will touch 11 Regions, namely Abruzzo, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Trentino-South Tyrol, Veneto, and over 250 Italian municipalities.

At the finish of each of the 21 stages of the competition, which begins today with the 62nd edition of the Trofeo Laigueglia, the "Novo Nordisk Health Village" will be set up, where various initiatives for the population will be organized, such as the Driving Change Arena, meetings with doctors, patient associations, local institutional representatives to discuss health, sports, and urban well-being, projects aimed at young people, through the involvement of new generations in educational activities, and cardio-metabolic screenings. Inside the Village, at each of the 21 stages, the Italian Heart Foundation (FIPC) will also be present with initiatives aimed at the population, to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage prevention in a context that combines and emphasizes the link between sports, wellness, and health.

«With our health villages, we can strengthen and expand our commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases that affect millions of people in Italy alone. A commitment that, to date, has allowed us to reach over 23 million Italians with the Cities for Better Health project, but which we want to continue to intensify», adds Alfredo Galletti.

«It is important to have a partner like Cities for Better Health for the 2025 Italian Regions Cup, an initiative of the Professional Cycling League and the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces. Through the numerous activities we will develop in synergy, we will be able to enhance the profound connection that exists between territories and cycling, between living and health environments, combining concrete commitment to promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle with the effort, passion, and tenacity of which cycling is the quintessential symbol among all sports», declares Roberto Pella, President of the Professional Cycling League.

The first health village was set up today in Laigueglia at the race finish, where starting at 2:30 PM, the Driving Change Arena: Health, Sports, Cities will be inaugurated, an important moment of confrontation between representatives of Institutions, scientific societies, local patient associations, and school facility managers, who have joined the educational project for primary and lower secondary school students, also invited to create drawings on the theme of physical activity and cycling, which will be exhibited in a show inside the village.

Among the participants in the Laigueglia initiative are Roberto Pella, President of the Professional Cycling League, Simona Ferro, Regional Councilor for Sports and Schools, Giorgio Manfredi, Mayor of Laigueglia, Lucia Briatore, Regional AMD President, Efisia Palmas, President of the Youth Diabetes Association of Ponente, Antonio Micillo, President of the Ligurian CONI, Gianluigi Piatti, President of the Heart in Motion Association, and Iris Grassi, Manager of the Socio-Health District of ASL2 in Savona.