Present at the event's launch on Monday, the event's patron, commentator Olivier Bonamici, recalled losing a bet during the Tour de France and how the consequence was cycling to the top of the Serra da Estrela.

This promise will be fulfilled on the second day of the festival in September, as part of the "Conquering the Tower" initiative.

In addition to the more than nine thousand social media followers who have already volunteered to participate in this challenge, Olivier Bonamici secured the support of the Covilhã City Council, which will not only help him achieve this goal but also create the event, with a program that combines sports with the territorial, cultural, tourist, and economic promotion of the region.

“1993” refers to Serra da Estrela, mainland Portugal’s highest point, and the seven-meter tower built there to mark two thousand meters.

“This is an event for all audiences. We are not designing an event exclusively for athletes. It is open to all participants, national or foreign, to all people who want to enjoy what the Serra da Estrela has to offer, its challenges, its beauty and its charm,” stated the Mayor of Covilhã.

Hélio Fazendeiro also highlighted that this is yet another opportunity to “establish Covilhã and the Serra da Estrela as a destination that goes beyond snow.”

The 1993 event will be repeated annually, with the goal of “being a great celebration of cycle tourism, without being competitive.”

For Olivier Bonamici, the climb “will be surreal,” but this endeavour also allowed him to take better care of himself: “Nobody told me, but I was obese. I weighed 123 kilos, but I've already lost 31. But the second part is still to come, which may be the most difficult.”

The commentator referred to overcoming the 28 kilometres separating the Covilhã Sports Complex, where the event is concentrated, from the mountain's summit.

“I don't know if I'll be able to climb the Torre. I doubt I will, but I'll die there, even if it's on my knees,” he joked.

Returning to cycling, he didn't hesitate to say that Covilhã "has everything to be the cycling capital of Portugal," but, to link this to the challenge, he defended the sport's popular dimension, "which has been lost because today sport is seen more as a business."

To ensure safety and control conditions, this event will be subject to prior, limited registration.