Cycling Foods We Love To Love

We asked a smattering of our Ciclismo Classico expert food-lover guides: What are the cycling foods you love to love on tour? Our guides are the real champions when it comes to picking out the best foods to re-energize our cycling legs or simply indulge–any moment of the day.

Here are a few of their favorite picks:

Henrick Murphy: La Bella Puglia, Piedmont: Land of Barolo and Truffles

“Oh, that’s easy! La Bella Puglia! Lunch at Pepino’s & Madia’s farm in Alberobello on Day 4. Fava bean pureè with cicoria…….aka “cycle-food-bomb!” A fantastic greens and protein combo–all made from scratch, of course.”

Henrick adds: “On the last day on our Piedmont: Land of Barolo and Truffles trip we stop in to meet with honey producer Giuseppe Pitarresi who has been producing honey and various other related organic products since 1990. We are lucky enough to visit the hives and afterwards have a taste of il Re (the King) of energy boosters: honey!” We’re zooming up those hills after that!”

Isacco Colombo:  Bike Across Belgium
“I think there is something outstanding and culturally unique about the foods we taste on our Bike Across Belgium  trip. While many of our Ciclismo Classico Italian trips include a “pizza night”, in Belgium we have a great “mussels and french fries night”! This happens in Oudenaarde, where we dine in a 16th century cellar just around the corner from the old main square and next door to the cool Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen cycling museum! Imagine a big pot of authentic, seasonal North Sea mussels served with fresh, original Belgian traditional french fries? That’s how we like it! Our Bike Across Belgium trip also features a waffle tasting, a Trappist Abbey beer & cheese tasting, an official french fries-only tasting, a Flemish stew tasting, a chocolate tasting, and many, many other beer tastings!”

Enrico Pizzorni: Piedmont: Land of Barolo and Truffles, Bike Across Southern Italy, La Bella Sicilia

Enrico’s favorite tour snack-picks run the gamut with a great selection from his favorite trips:

“Gelateria Canelin in Acqui Terme is the best recovery snack stop to enjoy killer fresh fruit-based gelati featured on Days 2 & 3 of our our Piedmont trip. The owner, Paolo Porta makes the best hazelnut torrone in the region (secret recipe!). Unfortunately he has no offspring to carry on the legacy. Such a pity!

“Another on of my favorite gelaterie: Il Pirata in Tricarico in Matera–an exciting snack stop on our Bike Across Southern Italy. Their ice cream is so delicious, enriched with fresh local ingredients and conveniently located at the top of a long climb. In that moment small bit of this magic dolce really hits the spot!”

“As we cycle around the island on La Bella Sicilia it seems every village features a salty or sweet snack of some sort. Sicilians are masterful street food vendors serving up ideal and scrumptious treats along the way: focacce, pizze, calzoni, pidoni, scacce, arancini, panelle. Fresh, salty breads filled with a myriad of combinations: veggies, ham, prosciutto crudo; as you please– baked or fried. One of my favorites is called Corsino in Palazzolo Acreide–a tiny village founded by the Greeks some 2500 years ago, at the foot of Monti Iblei. Corsino serves up state of the art sweet pastries highlighting their locally treasured almonds and ricotta. No joking around here!”

While on the Aeolian Islands, the panini (fresh sandwiches) lovingly made by Gilberto and Vera in a tiny alleyway in Lipari, make for a perfect lunch stop before our wonderful loop ride around the island. They have about 50 different choices ranging from lighter panini stuffed with tomatoes or the local extra-virgin olive oil–to the heavier, muratore (mason) version with 800 grams of incredible “stuff”: a Ciclismo Classico favorite guide stop. For expert eaters only.”

Simone Scalas: Savor Sardinia

“My best pick: handmade fresh pasta, made with grano capelli (a local ancient grain with very little gluten content, cultivated in central/south Sardinia) served with a white ragù of fresh pig sausage. This is a perfect way to end our day’s ride on Savor Sardinia. Rich in protein and carbs, easy to digest and and beautifully crafted by chef Roberto Petza of S’Apposentu – our Michelin Star restaurant stop in Siddi.”

Sandro Draghi: Assaggio Toscana, Toscana Green, Tuscany & L’Eroica

“I love to eat panforte (or even better panpepato) as energy bar. It’s a wonderful dense cake fortified with unusual spices, nuts, honey and (sometimes) chocolate or figs. We see this tasty snack a lot on Ciclismo Classico’s Assaggio Toscana &  Tuscany Green trips and of course it’s the “Grand King of Snacks” on the famous Eroica ride.

In Asciano, close to where I live,  there is the great traditional Giardi family recipe. Here is a short video on How to Make Panforte. And we are regular customers at our local favorite local bakery. 

Another power food we love to indulge in on our Assaggio Toscana trip is the famous cantuccini (small double baked cookies). We do a great cooking class with Maria Silva (owner of Villa Marsili, a passionate pastry chef). At the end of the lesson, we take away our own bag of cantuccini – bringing home self-made tasty “pieces” of Tuscany!”

 What’s your favorite cycling food?