Join us on the Leading Performance Trip to the Giro d'Italia.

The 2010 edition of the Giro promises an unprecedented final week of racing featuring the toughest and most famous climbs in Italy. And with Thomson Bike Tours you can witness each of these spectacular stages LIVE on the mountainside.

On Sunday May 23 our race viewing station will be situated on the super-steep slopes of the incredibly tough Monte Zoncolan, arguably the toughest climb in Europe.

2 days later we'll witness the pro riders confront the 24% gravel slopes of Plan de Corones in an individual time trial.

Then on Friday May 28 our viewing station will be set up close to the top of the legendary Passo Mortirolo.

Having our hotel perfectly situated in Bormio where the penultimate stage starts on Saturday May 29 allows us easy access to the final major climb of the 2010 Giro d'Italia, the infamous Passo Gavia. And for those up for the ultimate challenge - we'll have the option to ride almost the entire route of today's stage!

Witness these 4 key stages "LIVE"...

• LIVE Viewing of Stage 15 on Monte Zoncolan
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 16 on Plan de Corones
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 19 on the Passo Mortirolo
• LIVE Viewing of Stage 20 on the Passo Gavia

And no Thomson Bike Tour trip would be complete without a full program of legendary cols to climb. Stevio....Zoncolan.... Mortirolo....Gavia....Plan de Corones....Fedaia....Giau....Sella....Gardena....are just some of the famous climbs you'll ride during this fantastic week of cycling!

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

Trip Highlights

• LIVE Viewing of the 4 key stages of the final week of the 2010 Giro d'Italia
• Ride the famous Ronde Sella.
• Climb the legendary Passo Stelvio* (if the pass is cleared of snow and weather permitting)
• Climb the Passo Fedaia and Passo Giau- 2 of the toughest climbs in the Dolomites!
• Option to ride almost the entire penultimate Giro d'Italia Stage
• 4-star hotels throughout the trip
• As always the top support in the industry!

Your Daily Rides

GROUP A Rides:

Day	Route Summary	Hotel Location & Category	Ride Distance	Elevation Gain
1	Warm-up ride around Mauthen (Austria)	Mauthen 4-star	25 miles	2,100 ft
2	Mauthen › Plocken Pass › Monte Zoncolan › Mauthen	Mauthen 4-star	65 miles	9,850 ft
3	Mauthen › Kartitscher Sattel › Passo Tre Croci › Passo Giau › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	90 miles	9,000 ft
4	Alleghe › Passo Campolongo › Plan de Corones	Alleghe 4-star	60 miles	6,325 ft
5	Alleghe › Passo Fedaia › Passo Sella › Passo Gardena › Passo Valparola › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	65 miles	9,350 ft
6	Merano › Passo Stelvio › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	60 miles	9,200 ft
7	Bormio › Passo Mortirolo › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	55 miles	7,100 ft
8	Bormio › Forcola di Livigno › Passo d'Eira › Passo Foscagno › Passo Gavia › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	105 miles	12,750 ft
RIDE GROUP A › Total:			525	65,675
RIDE GROUP A › Daily Average:			66	8,209

 

GROUP B & C Rides:

Day	Route Summary	Hotel Location & Category	Ride Distance	Elevation Gain
1	Warm-up ride around Mauthen (Austria)	Mauthen 4-star	25 miles	2,100 ft
2	Mauthen › Plocken Pass › Monte Zoncolan › Mauthen	Mauthen 4-star	65 miles	9,850 ft
3	Dobbiaco › Passo Tre Croci › Passo Giau › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	45 miles	5,375 ft
4	Alleghe › Passo Campolongo › Plan de Corones	Alleghe 4-star	60 miles	6,325 ft
5	Alleghe › Passo Fedaia › Passo Sella › Passo Gardena › Passo Valparola › Alleghe	Alleghe 4-star	60 miles	8,300 ft
6	Merano › Passo Stelvio › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	60 miles	9,200 ft
7	Bormio › Passo Mortirolo › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	55 miles	7,100 ft
8	Bormio › Passo Gavia › Bormio	Bormio 4-star	35 miles	4,575 ft
RIDE GROUP B & C › Total:			405	52,825
RIDE GROUP B & C › Daily Average:			51	6,603

 

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
Monte Zoncolan	3,970 ft	11.5%	6.5 miles		221
Passo Mortirolo	4,265 ft	10.5%	7.7 miles		186
Passo Stelvio	5,932 ft	7.4%	15.1 miles		172
Passo Fedaia	3,474 ft	7.5%	8.8 miles		133
Passo Gavia	4,606 ft	5.5%	15.9 miles		126
Passo Bernina (first 14km)	3,278 ft	7.1%	8.7 miles		120
Passo Furcia	2,415 ft	8.1%	5.6 miles		98
Passo Giau	2,349 ft	8.3%	5.3 miles		97
Plocken Pass (Austria)	2,159 ft	5.3%	7.6 miles		90
Passo Valparola	2,631 ft	5.8%	8.6 miles		88
Kartitscher Sattel (Austria)	2,700 ft	1.9%	26.4 miles		80
Passo Croce Carnico	2,487 ft	4.5%	10.4 miles		64
Passo Sella	1,309 ft	7.3%	3.4 miles		61
Forcola di Livigno	863 ft	6.7%	2.4 miles		57
Passo Campolongo (north side)	968 ft	7.4%	2.5 miles		51
Passo Eira	1,293 ft	5.9%	4.1 miles		51
Passo Campolongo (south side)	2,365 ft	3.6%	12.5 miles		47
Passo Foscagno	886 ft	5.9%	2.9 miles		44
Passo Gardena	820 ft	4.2%	3.7 miles		36

What's Included

• 9 days / 8 nights fully accompanied trip
  
• All breakfasts
• All dinners
  
• 4 lunches
• Pick-up at Venice Marco Polo Airport
• Drop-off at Milan Malpensa 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

 

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. We'll have a van transfer back to our hotel in Alleghe after seeing the Plan de Corones TT stage and a transfer from Alleghe to Merano to position us close to the bottom of the Passo Stelvio. On all other days 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.