Milan is ready for a great final weekend at the 66th edition of the EICMA International Bicycle and Motorbike Exhibition at the new Milan exhibition centre. The show was open to the public for a second day on Friday, with extended hours into the evening and free entrance for women boosting the number even more. However there were no traffic problems thanks to excellent underground transport and car parks. The new exhibition centre now works perfectly.
Whether the thousands of visitors come to the show to see the motorbikes or bicycles, they have an incredible amount to see and enjoy, including the outdoor Motolive motorbike racing and the indoor Milan Six-Day track cycling. Paolo Bettini's quick recovery in his farewell race has been great news for all his fans and the Italian cyclist is now back in action on the track in hall 5.
The cycling stands were visited by numerous professional riders, from Ivan Basso and Alessandro Petacchi, to former greats Francesco Moser and Michele Bartoli. Even though the motorbikes dominate the show for the sheer number of exhibitors, the cycling halls have been packed with public visitors curious to see the new bikes and equipment for 2009.
Crowds are also expected to be huge on Saturday with the Honda pilots and Max Biaggi the stars of the day for the bikers, while recent Tour of Lombardy winner Damiano Cunego will visit the bike show. Italian TV star Valeria Marini is also due to visit on Saturday as part of her promotional work for Lambretta scooters.
The series of organised meeting and debates continue on Saturday with an interesting congress on the prospects for road use in Italy, with an analysis of the market, the reduction of red tape, fiscal policy and EU regulations.