| For the riders that plan on arriving (by their own means) at our first hotel in the Barolo region, we will be prepared to fit them on their rental bikes in the early afternoon and maybe go for a short ride around the vineyards.
More information about this option is below. |
HOTEL: Albergo dell’Agenzia
For the riders arriving today, meet the SFIDA Cycling team at Milano Malpensa Airport. Then we will travel to Pollenzo, where our hotel is located.
Once arrived, we will follow our usual program: check-in, orientation meeting, lunch, and set up the bikes.
After, we will enjoy our first ride in the Barolo wine region. Including a few hills and great views.
Dinner will be at our hotel tonight. Before dinner we will visit the Wine Bank, under the building of the hotel there is an impressive underground arcade, here are showcased wines from all the regions in Italy.
Day 1
37km / 630m
CLIMBS: Verduno and La Morra hills.
HOTEL: Albergo dell’Agenzia
Leaving our fantastic hotel, we will climb up to La Morra, today’s ride is fully in the Barolo and Langhe wine regions.
There are not many flat roads in this amazing part of Piemonte. To make the ride more interesting, we will do a few stops at beautiful towns like Barolo and Monforte d’Alba. When riding in Italy, great coffee and good food are always easy to find and enjoy!
In the afternoon we will ride through Grinzane Cavour and visit its fortified castle. Another climb up to La Morra and a great descent will take us back to our Hotel.
Dinner tonight will be at Osteria del Boccondivino in the nearby town of Bra. This osteria is part of the Slow Food movement and is listed in the Michelin Guide.
Day 2
71km / 1,305m
CLIMBS: La Morra, Novello, Roddino.
HOTEL: Albergo dell’Agenzia
Today, after a short transfer to Sempeyre, we will start an epic ride.
To climb the Colle dell’Agnello or the Col d’Izoard is an incredible experience on its own, doing both on the same ride is just fantastic.
We start in Sempeyre so we “only” do the last 30kms of this high altitude. There will be a second start point at Maddalena, 15km to the top. The last 10kms of this climb are some of the most stunning you will ever ride…but there are a few climbs on this trip that have similar spectacular views.
Our descent will take us to France, where we will be riding for the next couple of days.
Next is the Tour de France classic Col d’Izoard. This climb has witnessed some of the most historic moments of the Grande Boucle. Pay attention to the monuments dedicated to Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi, roughly 2kms from the top.
After reaching the top of the Izoard, we will descend to Briancon, after a short visit to the old medieval town, we will transfer by van to our hotel in Alpe d’Huez.
Day 3
91km / 3,000m
CLIMBS: Colle dell’Agnello 2,744m Col d’Izoard 2,360m (last 14km)
HOTEL: Hotel Grandes Rousses
Today will be a memorable day, Alpe d’Huez is on any rider’s bucket list.
We plan to start with a descent down to the Oisans valley via one of the most impressive balcony roads in the area, via the Pass de la Confession and Villard Reculas.
Before climbing up the Alpe d’Huez, we will have a coffee stop in Bourg d’Oisans.
The climb up to Alpe d’Huez, seen so many times during the TDF on television, is simply an extraordinary experience, we hope all our clients will enjoy this!
Note that Alpe d’Huez was climbed at the TDF in
Day 4
67km / 1,410m
CLIMB: Alpe d’Huez 1,900m
HOTEL: Hotel Grandes Rousses
Our last ride in the French Alps could not be another than the mighty Col du Galibier.
This mythic col was first climbed at the TDF in 1911 when the summit was the tunnel, about one hundred meters below the current and more scenic summit.
To get to the top of the Galibier, first, we will descend most of the Alpe d’Huez, then take another balcony road that will take us to the main road up the Col de Lautaret.
From the top of the Lautaret, it is 8,5km of pure climbing to the top of the Col du Galibier. When you reach the tunnel, pay attention to the monument to Henri Desgranges, the founder of the Tour de France.
In 2011, Cadel Evans was one of the main contenders at the TDF, the stage 18 had the finish at the top of the Galibier, climbed from the same side we will climb it. Andy Schleck was the stage winner but Cadel ended up winning the first and only TDF for Australia.
After enjoying the amazing panorama from the top, we will descend to Valloire where our ride will end. Then we will transfer to our hotel in Torino.
Our riders today will have two options, start from Alpe d’Huez and ride all the way to Valloire or start the ride from the top of the Col de Lautaret and enjoy the Galibier with full energy!
Day 5
96km / 2,750m
CLIMBS: Col de Lautaret and Col du Galibier 2,650m
HOTEL: NH Collection Piazza Carlina
Piemonte has some of the longest and highest climbs in the Alps. As we had experienced in the previous ascent to the Colle dell Agnello, the long ride up to the top is well worth it! But we are glad to take our first group to the Colle del Nivolet, without doubt, one of the most beautiful climbs in the Alps.
We will have a transfer from Torino to Locana, where the first group will start the climb. A second group will start in Ceresole Reale, so avoid the steepest section that runs parallel to the Torrente Orco and bypasses the tunnels.
The Giro d’Italia has never arrived at the top of the Nivolet, only in 2019 did they have a stage finish at Ceresole Reale. The main reason is that in May, the top of this climb is still closed with snow.
The views from the top are unforgettable as most of the ride up this epic climb.
After our ride, we will transfer back to our hotel in Torino.
Day 6
60km / 2,345m
CLIMBS: Colle del Nivolet 2,612m
HOTEL: NH Collection Piazza Carlina
Our last ride will be around the hills of Torino. This is the capital of Piemonte and along with Milano, Italy’s industrial centre.
We think that after such intense days during the trip, it would be a great idea to end with an easier morning ride and give time to our clients to enjoy Sunday in this amazing city. But don’t be fooled, you are still on an SFIDA Cycling, so each ride has a meaning!
After breakfast at our centrally located hotel, we will start our loop around the hills that surround Torino from the East. This loop, which was designed for our 2021 trip, is the same loop that the Giro d’Italia 2022 will use twice on stage 14 which ends in Torino.
Only 3kms from the start of our ride we will stop at the Monument to Fausto Coppi, il Campionisimo is revered all around Italy. Then we will head up to the Basilica di Superga, which is a very popular climb in Torino. Then we will link via small roads with Colle Della Maddalena and return to our hotel.
We should be back at our hotel late morning, then the rest of the day free until we meet for dinner.
Day 7
35km / 950m
CLIMBS: Basilica di Superga, Colle della Maddalena.
HOTEL: NH Collection Piazza Carlina
DAY 8: End of another epic SFIDA trip! .
After breakfast we will transfer to Milano Malpensa, with arrival around 11:00, so plan your flights or continuation of your stay in Italy accordingly.
MORE INFORMATION
PRICES:
TWIN room: $ 5,150 pp
SINGLE room supplement: $ 950
Rental bike: $950 E-bike $950 (limited availability)
Early arrival 17th June: $ 350pp. In twin share room and includes accommodation and dinner with wine. And afternoon short ride.
PAYMENT TERMS:
$ 1,000pp when making the booking. Balance to be paid 90 days before the trip starts.
INCLUDED:
7 nights accommodation 3 and 4 Stars
ALL MEALS INCLUDED.
7 breakfasts.
6 lunches.
7 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 support van comes fully equipped with all 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 tires 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 estate to travel to Italy, you will receive a partial refund on any payments you have made to SFIDA Cycling. The partial refund will be calculated based on the amounts we can’t recover from our suppliers and any other cost that we have already incurred at the time of the ban.
For any other reasons not related to COVID-19, the following will apply:
31 days before the trip starts – the return of your deposit.
30 days before the trip starts – the return of the full amount of the trip less $ 300 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 15 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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