Ready for the warm up ride! |
Day 1
SUNDAY SEP 23 › Welcome to Italy
Our trip starts at Milan Malpensa airport where our staff will be there to welcome you before the transfer to our hotel in Sale Marasino on the shores of Lake Iseo.
Lunch, orientation meeting, build up the bikes and then get ready for our afternoon warm-up ride which takes us North along the eastern shore of Lake Iseo to Marone. In Marone we'll head inland up the steep grades of the climb to the small village of Zone!
Today's Ride Summary: 16 miles / 3,000 ft elev. gain
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Today's Major Climbs |
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Climb |
Elev. Gain (feet) |
Average Grade |
Length
(miles) |
Profile
(m/km) |
Difficulty
Index |
Zone |
1,490 ft |
6.2% |
4.5 miles |
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60 |
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The descent from the Colle di San Fermo |
Day 2
MONDAY SEP 24 › Colle di San Fermo
The highlight of today's ride is the Colle di San Fermo, a challenging climb which features regularly in the Giro d'Italia and Giro di Lombardia pro races.
From our hotel on Lake Iseo we'll ride around the southern tip of the lake to Villongo where we start the tough 9-mile climb to the Colle di San Fermo.
Enjoy the twisting descent from the San Fermo which leads us to Lake Endine then back to Lake Iseo.
Today's Ride Summary: 61 miles / 4,550 ft elev. gain
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Today's Major Climbs |
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Climb |
Elev. Gain (feet) |
Average Grade |
Length
(miles) |
Profile
(m/km) |
Difficulty
Index |
Colle di San Fermo |
2,759 ft |
5.5% |
9.4 miles |
|
94 |
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Climbing the Dosso dei Galli |
Day 3
TUESDAY SEP 25 › Dosso dei Galli
The climbers will enjoy this ride with 3 major climbs and almost 10,000ft of climbing! The day kicks off with the climb up to Passo Tre Termine where we can enjoy some beautiful views of Lake Iseo, almost 2000ft below us.
Next up is the toughest climb of the week, the 12.5 mile climb up to the Dosso dei Galli which rises to almost 7,000ft - the highest point of the trip.
After the descent to Breno the road soon points upwards again as we start the climb to our hotel in the mountain village of Borno.
Today's Ride Summary: 65 miles / 9,850 ft elev. gain
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Today's Major Climbs
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Climb |
Elev. Gain (feet) |
Average Grade |
Length
(miles) |
Profile
(m/km) |
Difficulty
Index |
Passo Tre Termini |
1,686 ft |
5.6% |
5.7 miles |
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52 |
Dosso dei Galli |
4,163 ft |
6.3% |
12.5 miles |
|
128 |
Croce di Salven |
2.562 ft |
5.0% |
9.7 miles |
|
65 |
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On the Passo di Ganda |
Day 4
WEDNESDAY SEP 26 › San Pellegrino Terme
From our hotel in Borno we have 5km to climb before reaching the summit at Croce di Salven. A short downhill then we're on the climb to the Passo della Presolana where Stefano Garzelli won the penultimate stage of the 2004 Giro d'Italia.
After the long descent from the Presolana we arrive in Gazzaniga where we pick up the route of Stage 18 of the 2011 Giro d'Italia. We'll follow the final 40km of the Giro route over the Passo di Ganda and into San Pellegrino Terme.
Today's Ride Summary: 53 miles / 5,250 ft elev. gain
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Today's Major Climbs |
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Climb |
Elev. Gain (feet) |
Average Grade |
Length
(miles) |
Profile
(m/km) |
Difficulty
Index |
Passo della Presolana |
1,800 ft |
6.9% |
4.9 miles |
|
82 |
Passo di Ganda |
2,215 ft |
6.9% |
6.1 miles |
|
77 |
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The A group gets ready to ride |
Day 5
THURSDAY SEP 27 › Lake Como
Our destination is the beautiful town of Bellagio nestled between Lake Como and Lake Lecco.
From our hotel in San Pellegrino Terme we'll head over the 14-mile Culmine di San Pietro climb before the long drop down towards Lake Como. Just before reaching the shores of Lake Come the road suddenly turns upward again as we have to negotiate the Passo Agueglio before the final descent to Varenna on the eastern shore of Lake Como. From Varenna we have a short 15 minute ferry ride across the lake to Bellagio.
Today's Ride Summary: 48 miles / 5,800 ft elev. gain
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Today's Major Climbs |
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Climb |
Elev. Gain (feet) |
Average Grade |
Length
(miles) |
Profile
(m/km) |
Difficulty
Index |
Culmine di San Pietro |
2,776 ft |
3.8% |
14.0 miles |
|
81 |
Passo Agueglio |
2,274 ft |
6.0% |
7.2 miles |
|
72 |
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The Madonna del Ghisallo Church & Museum |
Day 6
FRIDAY SEP 28 › Madonna del Ghisallo
Today's ride is one of these dream rides that every cyclist should complete at least once in a lifetime.
Our ride follows many of the routes taken by the autumn "falling leaves" classic, the Giro di Lombardia. Leaving our hotel in Bellagio we start climbing almost immediately on our way to one of cycling's most famous sites - the Madonna del Ghisallo church and cycling musuem. We'll stop for a while to explore this fascinating shrine before continuing our route to Como, over the Muro di Sormano with it's 15% average grade over 1.2 miles!
Today's Ride Summary: 35 miles / 4,000 ft elev. gain
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Today's Major Climbs |
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Climb |
Elev. Gain (feet) |
Average Grade |
Length
(miles) |
Profile
(m/km) |
Difficulty
Index |
Passo del Ghisallo |
1,811 ft |
5.2% |
6.6 miles |
|
80 |
Colma di Sormano |
2,057 ft |
6.5% |
6.0 miles |
|
69 |
Muro di Sormano |
997 ft |
15.2% |
1.2 miles |
|
115 |
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Day 7
SATURDAY SEPT 29 › Arrivederci!
End of our trip and final transfer to Milan Malpensa
airport. |
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