The World Tour calendar closes on Saturday with Il Lombardia, but the 2021 season continues for another week in Italy. As part of the new "Ride the Dreamland" series organized by Filippo Pozzato, three races are scheduled in Veneto.

First, on Wednesday, October 13, the Giro del Veneto will return to the international calendar after a nine-year absence. Two days later, the Serenissima Gravel, the first gravel race for professional riders, will be held, followed by the Veneto Classic on Sunday, October 17.

Teams confirmed for the event include WorldTour teams UAE Team Emirates, Astana-Premiatech, Cofidis, Intermarque-Wanty-Gobert, Cubeca-Next Hash, and Alpecin-Phoenix, Androni- Seidelmec, and the Italian National Team.

UAE Team Emirates has a strong provisional lineup for the two road races, including Marc Hirschi, Diego Ulissi, Davide Formolo, and Matteo Trentin.

Elia Viviani and Simone Consonni could compete for Cofidis in the Giro del Veneto, where teammate Fabio Sabatini has announced he is ending his career, and Guillaume Martin is on the provisional start list for the Veneto Classic Guillaume Martin is on the provisional start list for the Veneto Classic. Other riders who will compete in the road events include Oddo Christian Aiking (Intermarque-Wanty-Gover), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech), and Roman Kreuziger (Gazprom-Rusvelo), who will wear the red jersey for the Vuelta a España. The Italian national teams for these three events will be announced after Il Lombardia this weekend.

While the 1.1 Veneto Classic is the flagship event for the team's entry into the World Tour in a few years, the Serenissima Gravel on Friday is of particular interest as it is the first gravel race to be flagged specifically for professional riders. [Of the total length of 126.8 km, approximately 110 km will be gravel. The riders will start from Jesolo, run through Parco del Cire, and then complete three laps of the 11-km finishing circuit at Villa Contarini in Piazzolla Sul Brenta.

Riders participating in the Serenissima Gravel include Nathan Haas, Fernando Barcelo (Cofidis), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarque Wanty), Ion Izaguirre (Astana Premier Tech), Marco Canora ( Gazprom Rusvelo), and Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates).

The series of races, which will be held for the first time in Veneto, will be complemented by the Gran Fondo VENEtoGO sporting event on October 16. Speaking to Cycling News last month, event organizer Filippo Pozzato said the race will likely take place before the 2022 World Championships.

The revived Giro del Veneto will take place on a 168.8 km course from Cittadella to Padua, including both Colli Belici and Colli Euganei in the hinterland of Vicenza, with a total climbing distance of 1,650 meters.

The new Veneto Classic starts in Venice and finishes in Bassano del Grappa. The route will include a climb up the Rosina and will pass through the cobbled "muro" of La Tisa twice.

"We are trying to create a course like the Tour de Flanders, where spectators can watch the race over and over," Pozzato said. Pozzato said, "We're trying to create a kind of stadium atmosphere."