| After meeting the SFIDA Cycling team at Milano Malpensa Airport (MXP), then we will drive to our accommodation in Bellagio, on the shore of Lake Como.
Upon arrival, we will proceed with checking at our hotel, lunch, trip presentation and building up bikes and then get ready for a great ride. Bellagio is the start of one of the most iconic climbs in Italy, the Passo del Ghisallo. This climb, besides being very scenic, has one of the only two churches dedicated to cycling in Italy. The Madonna del Ghisallo is an incredible place to visit, so it is the Museo del Ciclismo next to it. We will try to visit both during our ride. After the Ghisallo we will continue our ride towards the Colma di Sormano, this climb has a “shortcut” named Muro di Sormano, another well-known climb that is used regularly in the il Lombardia monument. From the top of the Colma di Sormano is an amazing descent down to the lake Como shore and a pleasant ride back to Bellagio. |
Day 1
52km / 1,500m
CLIMBS: Passo del Ghisallo 758m, Colma di Sormano 1,125m (Muro di Sormano “optional”).
HOTEL: Hotel Splendide Bellagio
Our day starts with a transfer to the start of the Valico di Valcava, from here we have designed a ride that will follow parts of today’s stage 15 of the Giro.
The first climb is the Valico di Valcava followed by the Selvino climb, we will enjoy the Giro ambience hours ahead of the professional peloton rides through the same roads.
Selvino is a very unique climb, it has 19 hairpins named after local cyclists. Italian legend Felice Gimondi’s in hairpin number 1. This climb comes at around halfway through today’s stage, and being Sunday, we can expect to have a lot of cycling fans following the stage.
We will watch the end of the stage in comfort at a restaurant by the road.
After the stage finishes, we will transfer to Trento, our next destination.
Day 2
102km / 2,050m
CLIMBS: Valico di Valcava 1,336m, Selvino 946m.
HOTEL: NH Trento
Trento is one of the nicest towns in northern Italy and we will stay here for a couple of nights. This is the capital of the Trentino – Alto Adige region and was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until the end of the First World War.
Besides its historical importance, this is a great base to explore the many climbs that are nearby. And today, ahead of tomorrow’s Giro stage 16, we will do some exploration around.
Our first climb is the Monte Bondone, from the Trento side, as tomorrow the Giro will climb up from the Aldeno side. This is a major climb, that has been climbed on the Giro regularly. The most epic stage here was during the 1956 edition when a blizzard caught the riders during the climb and only 43 out of the 89 starters could end the stage atop the mountain. The stage winner and later overall champion was Charly Gaul, the legendary rider from Luxembourg.
At the top of the Monte Bondone, we will be able to see some pictures and descriptions of that epic stage.
We will continue our ride descending towards Aldeno and climbing the Passo del Sommo, then we will descend back to Trento and enjoy the afternoon in town.
Day 3
98km / 2,900m
CLIMBS: Monte Bondone 1,654m, Passo di Sommo 1,343m.
HOTEL: NH Trento
We start our day with a short transfer to Rovereto, from here we will ride the last 63km of Stage 16 of the Giro. This ride includes the climb to Serrada and then the final climb to Monte Bondone from Aldeno.
This is another summit finish stage of this Giro edition, we can expect the race to get to some of the most important moments and hopefully, we see some great riding.
Today’s stage is near 200km long with about 5,000m of climbing!
We will watch the end of the Giro stage and then transfer to Badia, in the very heart of the Dolomites for a couple of days.
Day 4
87km / 2,400m
CLIMBS: Serrada 1,252m, Monte Bondone 1,654m.
HOTEL: Hotel Melodia del Bosco
Today we will enjoy one of the most glorious rides a cycling aficionado can do.
The Sella Ronda includes four climbs, and we will do it anticlockwise, the main reason is to make sure we do the full Passo Pordoi from Arabba.
First is the Passo Campolongo and then Passo Pordoi used to be one of the most iconic Giro d’Italia climbs, nowadays, with other harder climbs like Passo Giau or Passo Fedaia (Marmolada), the Pordoi is an “easier” climb for today’s peloton, still one of the nicest.
At the top of the Passo Pordoi, there is a bike monument with the names of all the riders that have ridden in the first position during a Giro stage.
Next is the Passo Sella, at the junction of the Pordoi and Sella, there is one of the many memorials dedicated to Fausto Coppi, the Italian Campeonissimo. We will make sure we stop by and see it.
The last climb of the day is the beautiful Passo Gardena, from the top, the views over this side of the Dolomites are stunning.
From there it is a pleasant descent back to our hotel in Badia.
Day 5
67km / 1,900m
CLIMBS: Passo Campolongo 1,875m, Passo Pordoi 2,239m, Passo Sella 2,244m, Passo Gardena 2,121m.
HOTEL: Hotel Melodia del Bosco
Today we are going to Cortina d’Ampezzo via two of the most interesting climbs in the Dolomites.
In fact, we are riding part of tomorrow’s Giro stage which includes the Passos de Valparola and the Giau.
Almost with no warm up and we are up the Passo de Valparola, this is one of the big climbs in the Dolomites. The views getting close to the top are amazing, with the unique rock formations that form the Dolomites. At the top we can see a First World War fort, it now contains a small museum too.
After descending a couple of kilometres, we join the road of the Passo Falzarego and we will descend towards Colle Santa Lucia before starting the second climb of the day.
Passo Giau is one of the hardest climbs in the Dolomites, but definitely one of the most rewarding…once you reach the top!
From the top of the Giau, is all descending to Cortina, where we will stay for a couple of nights! The Giro is coming!
Day 6
67km / 2,150m
CLIMBS: Passo Valparola 2,192m, Passo Giau 2,236m.
HOTEL: Hotel Villa Blu Cortina
It has been ten years since the last stage finish at the iconic and spectacular Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
But for sure that stage 19, with close to 5,500m of climbing is the Queen stage of the Giro d’Italia 2023.
From our hotel in Cortina, we will climb up to Passo Tre Croci and then reach the Lago di Misurina, at this time of the year, this part of Italy usually has snow-capped peaks and is very scenic.
From the Lago di Misurina, we will climb up the tough Tre Cime di Lavaredo, with the last four kilometres between 12-15%, this is will be a decisive moment of the 2023 Giro.
After the stage, we will return to our hotel in Cortina.
Day 7
44km / 1,550m
CLIMBS: Passo Tre Croci 1,805m, Tre Cime di Lavaredo 2,357m.
HOTEL: Hotel Villa Blu Cortina
Today we have the last ride of our great Giro d’Italia trip.
The Monte Grappa is not in this year’s route, but this is one of the most amazing mountains in northern Italy and we want to end our trip in style.
We will transfer from Cortina d’Ampezzo to Feltre. From there we will start riding Monte Grappa on the Caupo side, this is a nearly 30km ascent up to the summit.
At the top of Monte Grappa, we will visit the Military memorial, this is the largest Italian military ossuary from the First World War.
We will end our ride descending to Pederobba and transfer to our last hotel of the trip in Venice.
End of another epic SFIDA Cycling trip.
Day 8
60km / 1,930m
CLIMB: Monte Grappa 1,738m.
HOTEL: NH Venice Laguna Palace
DAY 9: Arrivederci!
After breakfast transfer by van to Venice airport (VCE). Expect to get there by 10:00, so plan your flights accordingly.
MORE INFORMATION
PRICES:
TWIN room: 4,450 Euros pp
SINGLE Supplement: 950 Euros
Rental bike: 750 Euros
Rental E-bike: 850 Euros
PAYMENT TERMS:
700 Euros when making the booking. Balance to be paid 90 days before the trip starts.
INCLUDED:
8 nights of accommodation between 3 – 4 Stars
ALL MEALS INCLUDED.
8 breakfasts.
8 lunches.
8 dinners, including wine.
NOT INCLUDED:
International flights.
Travel insurance.
Hotel extras: mini-bar, spa, massage.
Tips for the staff.
SUPPORT:
We will have ride leaders and at least one mechanic on our trip.
Our staff/client ratio is 1:4 staff.
Our passenger vans come fully equipped with all the necessary to give the best support during the rides.
We carry gels, energy bars, powder mix, water, fruit, riding food, tools, pumps, spare tubes and tyres to make sure our first-class support helps you through the trip.
Professional first aid kit.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Adapting to our current COVID-19 pandemic, and incoordination, with most of the hotel’s terms and conditions, we are adjusting our cancellation policy accordingly as follows:
If there’s a travel ban from your country to travel to the country you are doing a trip with us, you will receive a full refund on any payments you have made to SFIDA Cycling.
For any other reasons not related to COVID-19, the following will apply:
61 days before the trip starts – the return of your deposit.
60 days before the trip starts – the return of the full amount of the trip less the 300 Euros cancellation fee, plus any amount that we can’t recover from Hotels and other costs that we have already incurred in the trip preparation.
Less than 30 days before the trip starts – no amount will be refunded. We will, however, try to credit as much as possible towards a future trip. This depends on the amount that we can get back from the hotels and other costs that we have already incurred in the trip preparation.
We understand that it is difficult to commit too much in advance given the situation we are all living in.
For this reason, we won’t be holding any spots until the full deposit has been paid.
Hotels are now more strict with how many rooms they are willing to have on hold for groups, so until deposit payments are made we won’t be able to confirm your spot.
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