2010 Advance Reservations Now OPEN Click here to make your advance reservation! Full details of our 2010 trip will be available end of November. What is an advance reservation? click here to find out! And don't forget to reserve your Orbea Rental Bike (limited supply)

Our "King of the Mountains" series of trips continue to set the bar for Performance Bike Trips to the Grand Tours.

In May our King of the Mountains trip focuses on the Centenary Edition of the Giro d'Italia.

This year we've decided to focus on the 1st week of the Giro d'Italia as we feel this is the week that offers the best combination of race viewing, challenging & spectacular rides and, sticking with the Thomson tradition, no van transfers between hotels.

Our trip starts with a couple of days in Venice and a novel experience for Thomson Bike Tours - no bikes! You know how much we like to ride so this was a tough decision for us - but we felt that the Opening Stage Team Time Trial in Venice was good enough reason for us to leave the bikes behind and enjoy this unique opportunity to soak up the atmosphere at the start of the Centenial Giro d'Italia (besides, there are no hills for us to climb around Venice!).

Enjoy Venice because after an early breakfast Sunday morning we head straight up to the Dolomites and after lunch you'll be riding the legendary Passo Duran, one of the toughest climbs in the region!

During the rest of the week you'll ride the majority of the climbs in the Dolomites and witness 2 key mountain-top stages of the Giro d'Italia.

So join us for an unforgettable week featuring some of the most spectacular and challenging riding in Europe.

 

Witness The Giro d'Italia "LIVE"...

Join us and witness 3 of the most exciting stages of this years Giro d'Italia:

• LIVE Viewing of Stage 1 Team Time Trial in VENICE
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 4 Mountain-Top Finish in San Martino di Castrozza
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 5 Mountain-Top Finish on the daunting Alpe di Siusi

And there's much more to our trip! We've prepared a week of the best and most challenging riding you'll find anywhere in Europe.

Join Peter and our experienced ride leaders on the San Pellegrino.... Sella.... Campolongo.... Pordoi.... Giau.... Tre Cime di Lavaredo.... Duran.... Staulanza.... Gardena.... and many more famous climbs!

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

 

Top Support in the Industry...

Throughout the trip you can relax and enjoy the rides knowing that you have the best Support Team in the industry right behind you all the way!

 

Trip Highlights

• First 2 days in VENICE - witness the Opening Stage Team Time Trial
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 4 on the climb to San Martino di Castrozza. Ride the climb just hours before the pros!
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 5 on the Alpe di Siusi climb. Again, ride the route just hours before the peloton.
• Ride the famous Ronde Sella.
• Climb the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Passo Fedaia, Passo Giau and Passo Duran - 4 of the toughest climbs in the Dolomites!
• 3-star and 4-star hotels throughout the trip
• As always the top support in the industry!

Your Daily Rides

GROUP A & B Rides:

Day	Route Summary	Hotel Location & Category	Ride Distance	Elevation Gain
3	Alleghe › Passo Duran › Forcella Staulanza › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	45 miles	7,000 ft
4	Alleghe › Passo Giau › Passo Tre Croci › Tre Cime di Lavaredo › Passo Falzarego › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	85 miles	11,500 ft
5	Alleghe › Forcella Aurine › Passo Cereda › Passo Rolle › Moena	Moena 3-star	65 miles	8,150 ft
6	Moena › Passo Costalunga › Alpe di Siusi › Ortisei	Ortisei 3-star	60 miles	7,000 ft
7	Ortisei › Passo Sella › Passo San Pellegrino › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	60 miles	6,200 ft
8	Alleghe › Passo Fedaia › Passo Sella › Passo Gardena › Passo Valparola › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	70 miles	9,100 ft
RIDE GROUP A & B › Total:			385	48,950
RIDE GROUP A & B › Daily Average:			64	8,158

 

GROUP C Rides:

Day	Route Summary	Hotel Location & Category	Ride Distance	Elevation Gain
3	Alleghe › Passo Duran › Forcella Staulanza › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	45 miles	7,000 ft
4	Alleghe › Passo Giau › Passo Falzarego › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	45 miles	6,400 ft
5	Alleghe › Forcella Aurine › Passo Cereda › Passo Rolle › Moena	Moena 3-star	65 miles	8,150 ft
6	Moena › Passo Costalunga › Alpe di Siusi › Ortisei	Ortisei 3-star	60 miles	7,000 ft
7	Ortisei › Passo Sella › Passo San Pellegrino › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	40 miles	4,775 ft
8	Alleghe › Passo Fedaia › Passo Sella › Passo Gardena › Passo Valparola › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	60 miles	7,650 ft
RIDE GROUP C › Total:			315	40,725
RIDE GROUP C › Daily Average:			53	6,788

 

Climb these Famous Cols

In just 1 week climb many of the legendary cols in the Italian Dolomites! 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
Alpe di Siusi	4,984 ft	6.1%	15.5 miles		141
Passo Fedaia	3,474 ft	7.5%	8.8 miles		133
Passo Duran	3,255 ft	7.9%	7.8 miles		126
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 Rolle	4,111 ft	5.4%	14.4 miles		104
Passo San Pellegrino	2,552 ft	6.8%	7.1 miles		90
Forcella Staulanza	2,766 ft	6.7%	7.8 miles		88
Passo Valparola	2,631 ft	5.8%	8.6 miles		88
Passo Falzarego	2,995 ft	5.6%	10.2 miles		83
Passo Tre Croci	1,886 ft	7.1%	5.0 miles		76
Passo Pordoi	2,579 ft	6.0%	8.1 miles		73
Forcella Aurine	2,300 ft	5.8%	7.5 miles		69
Passo Sella	1,309 ft	7.3%	3.4 miles		61
Passo Sella (North Side)	1,224 ft	6.8%	3.4 miles		54
Passo Costalunga	1,345 ft	4.1%	6.2 miles		53
Passo Campolongo	1,007 ft	5.0%	3.8 miles		44
Passo Gardena	820 ft	4.2%	3.7 miles		36

What's Included

• 9 days / 8 nights fully accompanied trip
  
• All breakfasts
• 6 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
• 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

 

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: NO Van Transfers between your hotels and the start/finish of the bike rides. Each day 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 counts! Choice of rides: shorter distance options are available on most days.