Giro d’Italia: The Greatest Cycling Event Ever

Ciclismo Classico is beyond elated about our Follow the Giro: 100th Edition tour. Get ready for the monumental ride of a lifetime! Our 9-day trip follows four stages of the Giro d’Italia in the last week of racing and gives you a chance to watch and participate in all the fun and fervor while riding the route! Join this or any of our other favorite live-long-and-happy trips.

The Giro d’Italia is an incredible opportunity for the locals and visiting cycling enthusiasts to come together. And what could be more exciting than celebrating 100 years of this historic event? Spring gatherings and town events line the medieval streets and of course, there is always a huge turnout for the mountain stages. What is unique about Ciclismo Classico’s Follow the Giro is the fact that we have connections with the local race organizers and know exactly where and when to get onto the racecourse—and where all the fun is!

Nobody knows how to party like the Italians in May! Whether it’s a street party complete with pasta lunch and sausages or the local Braulio being passed around spectators on a mountaintop, this is the electricity of the Giro d’Italia that no television can transmit. This isn’t just a bike race: it’s one of the world’s oldest and largest European parties. And just think: a lot of this happens at altitude! Read more about this in Ciclismo Classico guide Gabriel Del Rossi’s blog Following the Giro d’Italia, written earlier this fall.

“This 100th edition of the Giro d’Italia is a monument to cycling,”” says long-time local cycling enthusiast Luca Magnoni, who lives and rides near our base in Tuscany. “”This year, the race passes through some remarkable “”tribute spots”” where legendary cyclists are honored. Ponte a Ema near Florence (Gino Bartali was from Ponte a Ema), Oropa in Piedmont (tribute to Pantani), Forlì in Emilia Romagna (tribute to Ercole Baldini)… The race will also go to Sardinia (which is rare), Puglia and Sicily (Nibali who has won two Giro races is from Messina).””

“”So, besides the amazing alpine stages, there is a lot of cycling history, modern and legendary stories attached to the race. For example, they climb La Majella, which is a climb that was featured for the first time in 1967, when Eddy Merckx won the race.

The first time I saw the Giro, I was seven years old and it passed right in front of my house in Castelmaggiore (BO). Since then, I have seen 20 or 30 stages (a couple of sprint finishes, then in the Alps, the arrival in Bologna in 2011, the big start in Bologna in 1994, etc.) so, it is the Italian race. For me, it’s also a way to remember my grandma, who died in 2013 and since World War II, had always listened to the Giro race by radio and later watched it. She actually sort of snubbed the Tour de France, as she always said, “”The pink jersey is much more beautiful!””

Luca adds, “”The Giro d’Italia in Italy is a bit like when the national soccer team plays: you definitely know it is important, whether you follow cycling or not. And this year with the 100th year anniversary, all eyes will be glued!”

But beyond the fun, Ciclismo Classico is cooking up a spectacular line-up of surprises for this trip, as all of the regions the Giro travels through are literally right in our backyard! Who knows these places better than us?

Interested in the history of this gorgeous race? Read more here.

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Piedmont: Barolo and Truffles

Believe it or not, eight of our Ciclismo Classico guides are from Piedmont. Coincidence? Not likely! This is actually built in assurance that our guides won’t lead you astray. You can be sure you’re on the best tummy tour taking you down the most scrumptious roads the region has to offer. This is the essence of our Piedmont: Barolo and Truffles trip.

The phenomenal food and wine in Piedmont put this incredible, super sophisticated bon viveur region on the foodie map many moons ago. We continue to celebrate this place as one of our best, top-rate Forever Young foodie trips of all time and would like to divulge a sampling of the types of divine dishes you’ll be tasting:

Agnolotti del plin (ravioli stuffed with pork, chicken and rabbit) 

Tagliarini (egg pasta) con tartufo (or porcini)

Risotto al Gavi (a risotto made with the local DOCG wine)

Braised Fassone cheek (a Piemontese breed of beef) with wine

Flan di verdure con fonduta (vegetable pie with fonduta cheese)

Bunet (typical chocolate pudding dessert made with amaretti)

Vitello tonnato (veal steak with a tuna sauce)

Insalata russa (Russian salad with mayo)

Amaretti di Gavi (small biscotti – either soft or dry – made with almonds)

Torta di nocciole (hazelnut torte)

Native Piemontese Enrico Pizzorni, long-time Ciclismo Classico Tour Leader and Tour Guide Manager shares some of his favorite dishes—best prepared by his mamma, of course!

Stoccafisso all’acquese (made with fresh anchovies, black olives, pine nuts)

Trippa (tripe)

Bagna cauda (a dip made with garlic, anchovies, oil and butter; served in Fall/Winter seasons)

Finanzierav (giblets and chickent parts cooked in red wine)

Bollito misto (boiled meats)

Acciughe col bagnet verde (sardines with a garlic-hot pepper-parsley green sauce)

So, when traveling in Piemonte one must learn the important and handy phrase quando si mangia? (when do we eat?)

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Bike Across France

Cave paintings, refined French wines, landscapes straight from a French Impressionist art gallery. As Ciclismo Classico guide Gabriel Del Rossi writes about Bike Across France:

One of the best highlights on this trip is Le Font de Gaume: Les Eyzies. Part cave, part art gallery, part prehistoric temple, nobody is certain what Font de Gaume actually is. On Ciclismo Classico’s Bike Across France, the experts can tell us what is in this cave: an extensive network of polychromatic paintings accomplished by early homo sapiens during the Magdalenian period. But the reason why they are there is baffling. The techniques used by these early artists suggest that they were much more advanced than we give them credit for. 

Join our Spring trip to witness fields covered in wildflowers and all the splendor in the markets boasting an array of colors with the new produce in abundance (featuring white and green asparagus and strawberries!).

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BIKE ACROSS ITALY

Experience the journey with an educational spin East to West, coast to coast, through the best medieval gemstone villages of central Italy. Thrilling, ancient landscapes. Along the way, sip a variety of delicious wines from four distinct regions.

On this trip, you’ll experience the nuances of everyday Italian life as we glide through tiny and bigger, bustling towns. Get up-close-and-personal with Italian lifestyle and savor the tastes and witness the subtle differences of these four central regions: Le Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany. This trip will have you spinning through a historical timeline, from Etruscan to Medieval to Roman and Renaissance periods. The learning is non-stop. Take note! Our travelers adore the educational aspect of these trips just as much as we love spreading the knowldege.

Join us on our May 2017 departure and you’ll get to witness the lively Festival of the Ceri—one of Italy’s most ancient folkloristic festivals revealing both religious and pagan origins, honoring Ceres, Goddess of the Harvest, Glory of Communities and Renaissance Power.

Up for the journey of a lifetime in 2017? Join our most popular foodie coast-to-coast bliss ride!

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