The 2013 Giro d'Italia will again provide for a fascinating and highly competitive race with seven mountain-top finishes and almost 90k of time trials.

The final 2 mountain stages are particulary spectacular with Stage 19 climbing Giro favourites Passo Gavia and Passo Stelvio before the 22km climb to Val Martello at over 2000m.

Stage 20 is equally impressive with no less than 5 categorised climbs and the finish on top of the tough climb up to Tre Cime di Lavaredo.

With 2 such spectacular stages coming right at the end of the 3-week race our King of the Mountains trip will naturally focus on these 2 fantastic finishes.

Leading up to these 2 race-viewing days we'll spend a full week riding the classic Italian climbs in the Alps & Dolomites including Passo Stelvio from both directions, the Passo Gavia and the Passo Mortirolo!

Join us for a classic week of spectacular riding in the Dolomites and Italian Alps!

Witness these 2 key stages "LIVE"...

• LIVE Viewing of the FINISH of Stage 19 on Val Martello
• LIVE Viewing of the FINISH of Stage 20 on Tre Cime di Lavaredo

The Rider's Trip:
Our trips are not just about watching the Giro. We also have a full program of challenging daily rides that will give you the opportunity to ride many of the legendary climbs in the Dolomites and Italian Alps.

Stelvio (from both sides).... Mortirolo.... Giau.... Gavia.... Fedaia.... Pordoi.... Tre Cime di Lavaredo.... Gardena.... Costalunga.... are just some of the famous climbs you'll ride during this fantastic feast of cycling!

Click here to view the complete list of famous climbs on this trip.

Trip Highlights

• LIVE Viewing of the 2 key stages of the final weekend of the 2013 Giro d'Italia
• Ride the famous Sella Ronda.
• Climb the legendary Passo Stelvio from both sides!
• Climb the infamous Passo Mortirolo and the Passo Gavia
• Climb the Passo Fedaia and the Passo Giau - 2 of the toughest climbs in the Dolomites!
• As always the top support in the industry!

Our Race-Viewing Hospitality Areas

Enjoy your afternoon on the mountain-side in the comfort and safety of our comfortable race-viewing areas:

• Prime viewing spots - our teams are in place several days before the race ensuring that we secure prime race-viewing loactions
• Large marquis tents
• LIVE Satellite TV race coverage in English
• Full picnic lunch and refridgerator stocked with cool drinks

*** Optional Extension - Final Day Race-Viewing in Brescia ***

Extend your trip and witness the Final Stage and ceremony in Brescia. Contact us for full details of this optional extension!

The Rides

Day	Route Summary	Hotel Location	Ride Distance	Elevation Gain
1	Warm-up ride around Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	20 miles	1,950 ft
2	Alleghe › Passo Pordoi › Passo Sella › Passo Gardena › Passo Valparola › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	68 miles	8,850 ft
3	Alleghe › Passo Fedaia › Passo Costalunga › Merano	Merano 4-star	70 miles	6,400 ft
4	Merano › Passo Stelvio › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	60 miles	7,500 ft
5	Bormio › Passo Mortirolo › Passo Gavia › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	70 miles	10,150 ft
6	Bormio › Passo Stelvio › Val Martello LIVE RACE VIEWING - Stage 19 Summit Finish-Val Martello Val Martello › Laces	Alleghe 4-star	54 miles 15 miles	9,400 ft 0 ft
7	Alleghe › Passo Giau › Passo Tre Croci › Tre Cime di Lavaredo LIVE RACE VIEWING - Stage 20 Summit Finish-Tre Cime di Lavaredo Tre Cime di Lavaredo › Cortina d'Ampezzo	Alleghe 4-star	37 miles 15 miles	8,050 ft 400 ft
Total:			349	52,700
Daily Average:			50	7,529

 

Climb these Famous Cols

In just 1 week climb many of the legendary cols in the Italian Dolomites and Alps! Here's the list of cols included in our itinerary (sorted by Difficulty Index).

Climb	Elev. Gain	Average Grade	Length	Profile (m/km)	Difficulty Index
Passo Mortirolo	4,265 ft	10.5%	7.7 miles		186
Passo Stelvio (from Prato)	5,932 ft	7.4%	15.1 miles		172
Passo Gavia	4,470 ft	7.9%	10.7 miles		147
Passo Stelvio (from Bormio)	5,030 ft	7.1%	13.4 miles		144
Val Martello	4,557 ft	6.1%	14.1 miles		144
Passo Fedaia	3,474 ft	7.5%	8.8 miles		133
Tre Cime di Lavaredo	1,890 ft	8.0%	4.5 miles		125
Passo Giau	3,025 ft	9.1%	6.3 miles		122
Passo Valparola	2,631 ft	5.8%	8.6 miles		88
Passo Tre Croci	1,886 ft	7.1%	5.0 miles		76
Passo Pordoi	2,090 ft	6.8%	5.8 miles		73
Passo Sella	1,309 ft	7.3%	3.4 miles		61
Passo Costalunga	1,345 ft	4.1%	6.1 miles		53
Passo Gardena	820 ft	4.2%	3.7 miles		36

Our Support

Quite simply, we provide the best support in the industry - guaranteed!

• Staff to client ratio of 1:4
• 3 ride groups of approximately 10 riders in each group - allows us to manage riders of varying ability levels
• 1 TBT experienced ride leader and 1 SAG van per ride-group of approximately 10 riders
• Experienced Mechanic
• Top-of-the-line rental bikes available
  

What's Included

• 8 days / 7 nights fully accompanied trip
  
• All breakfasts
• All dinners
  
• 3 lunches
• Pick-up at Venice Marco Polo Airport
• Drop-off at Venice Marco Polo Airport
• All ground transportation
• All luggage transfer
• Services of our expert guides
• Experienced mechanic
• Support vehicles
• Thomson Bike Tours maps, cue sheets and elevation profiles

What's Not Included

• Airfare
• Travel and personal insurance
• Additional hotel expenses i.e. phone charges, mini-bar, gratuities

Bike Rental

The Bianchi Sempre Pro is available for rent on all our trips. Click here for full details of our rental bike program.

 

The Thomson Bike Tours Difference Your trip to Europe may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you deserve the best! Performance cyclists now rate Thomson Bike Tours as the premiere provider of performance trips to Europe. Here are a few details that set us aside from the rest: LESS VAN - MORE BIKE: Limited Van Transfers between your hotels and the start/finish of the bike rides. With the exception of the transfers after the race-viewings we ride from and back to the hotel. Our local knowledge, extensive planning and vast experience mean that you spend less time in a van and more time on the bike! Best-in-class Support & ride leaders: another key to our success! Sag van and ride leader for every 10 riders. Highest Staff to Customer Ratio: 1 staff member per 4 customers! LIVE Satellite TV coverage in English: our strategically placed mountain-top race vantage points have become the reference for the industry and the envy of the mountain! No-one else has LIVE Satellite TV coverage in English! THE THOMSON RIDES: over the years we've also gained a reputation for providing the best (and most challenging) rides. 25 years experience riding in the Dolomites and Italian Alps counts! Choice of rides: shorter distance options are available on most days.