Tuscan Cycling Tour
Riding Days
4
Number of Nights
4
Total Distance
400km
Total Climbing
5,700 metres
Difficulty
3/5
At a Glance
Tuscan Cycling Tour has been designed to showcase some of the best riding available in the region, taking in classic routes designed by La Fuga.
Along our journey, we will visit some iconic Tuscan towns such as San Gimignano, as well as some of the ‘strade bianche’ – white gravel roads – as featured in L’Eroica, that typify the region. We’ll tackle the classic climbs of Monte San Savino, Monte Luco and San Baronto.
Evenings will be spent comparing notes on the day’s adventures with your fellow riders and sampling delicious local cuisine and wines. Along the way, you’ll be treated to some of the best hospitality we can offer. Charming hotels, great dinners and fully supported rides.
The region of Tuscany has been synonymous with cycling since the birth of bike racing, having been the birthplace of many champions from Gino Bartali to Mario Cipollini, who still resides in Lucca.
Tour Highlights
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Asphalt
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Gravel
Home to a rhythmical, rolling landscape of vineyards, olive groves, and incredible Renaissance architecture, Tuscany is wonderful for any escape. For cyclists, Tuscany immerses us into a special region that has defined cycling culture.
Tour Highlights:
- Experience the beautiful Tuscan landscape
- Enjoy amazing food and drink
- Tackle the famous strade bianche
Book Tour
€1,200.00 – €2,195.00
Overview
Tuscan Raid - Overview about the Region
Taking in classic routes designed by La Fuga, our Tuscan Raid has been designed to showcase some of the best riding available in the region.
Along our journey, we will visit some iconic Tuscan towns such as San Gimignano, as well as some of the ‘strade bianche’ – white gravel roads – as featured in L’Eroica, that typify the region. We’ll tackle the classic climbs of Monte San Savino, Monte Luco and San Baronto.
Evenings will be spent comparing notes on the day’s adventures with your fellow riders and sampling delicious local cuisine and wines. Along the way, you’ll be treated to some of the best hospitality we can offer. Charming hotels, great dinners and fully supported rides.
The region of Tuscany has been synonymous with cycling since the birth of bike racing, having been the birthplace of many champions from Gino Bartali to Mario Cipollini, who still resides in Lucca.
The region and challenges
The terrain is challenging, yet rewarding and you will experience it all over the course of a long weekend with us. Traversing rows upon rows of vines and olive groves and discovering remote medieval villages, there is always a surprise around the corner on this spectacular journey.
Despite the absence of long mountains passes, you will still scale over 2000m in a day and the Strada Bianca adds a whole new set of riding skills to your armoury. During the rides over the Strade Bianche, you will be able to really enjoy an authentic taste of what cycling was like before the advent of smooth tarmac and carbon-framed bikes.
Food and wine
Sample the food, Tuscan stews and Chianti wine and, for a moment, you might feel like you have stepped back in time. October is a great time to ride in Tuscany, with the majority of holiday traffic now gone and the effects of Autumn starting to show in the trees.
Climate
Gearing
Details
What's Included
*Meals are included up to a specific budget after which a supplement will be applied
What's not Included
Itinerary
Drivetime to the hotel is around 25 minutes only from Pisa airport. Once there and checked in, we’ll unpack and build bikes for you so that they’re ready to go the following morning.
If flights run to time, it may be possible to get a spin in in the afternoon to loosen the legs after a travel day. Monte Serra is within striking distance of the hotel for those wishing to sample one of the great European training climbs – a measure of form for many of the locally-based pro riders.
Our Tour Manager will lead a short briefing in the evening before we eat in the hotel’s restaurant. Expect to eat dinner around 19:00.
Day one will take us south-east from Lucca, through rolling hills and ancient Tuscan towns towards Radda. Our route starts off very steady with some flat terrain out of Lucca as we traverse the base of Monte Serra. The roads are immediately idyllic and this is a great chance to chat and get to know each other before the road starts to rise.
The first 50km are ridden on generally flat roads as we make our way towards the hills that make up the Chianti region. We’ll stop for coffee once we’re well clear of Lucca – a chance to double-check bikes are running well and sample the first of many fantastic espresso coffees.
From here, the road starts to rise and we’ll ride up to San Gimignano, famous for its multitude of towers built by merchants as a symbol of their wealth – a forerunner to today’s skyscrapers. We’ll stop for a picnic lunch in a vineyard before reaching the town itself and take in the views as a reward for climbing up here. After San Gimignano, the road descends down into Colle Val d’Elsa and Poggibonsi before making a long steady climb up to Radda.
Our accommodation for the following two nights is just on the outskirts of Radda and has great views over the town and the countryside. Tonight, we’ll eat in a restaurant close to our hotel.
Today recreates the heroic rides of cycling’s golden era, with the added comfort and convenience of starting and finishing in the same hotel. We’ve devised alternative routes for those that don’t wish to ride too much on the white roads. We leave Radda and ride towards Gaiole in Chianti, We take in the first section of ‘Strada Bianche’ from the L’Eroica sportive at the Castello di Brolio winery.
We then wind our way out across the countryside before climbing the challenging climb of Monte Luco. A fast, well-surfaced descent follows. We’ll eat another picnic lunch en route before we take on the climb of Monte San Savino using a quiet back route. The rest of the day undulates back to Radda, with a few more gravel sections are thrown in for good measure.
Our final day sees us return to Lucca. We’ll retrace our route from day one as far as Castellina, where we then descend via a more northerly route.
Our main climb of the day, San Baronto, is used by virtually every Tuscan based professional rider and by the myriad of amateur teams and races. (Keep your eyes peeled for a famous local that you may have heard of – Mark Cavendish). The climb is an absolute peach; a café at the top with a panoramic view sets us up for the descent on perfectly surfaced tarmac laid in advance of the road worlds when they came this way in 2013.
Our approach to San Baronto is from the town of Vinci to the south famous as the birthplace of Leonardo. We’ll regroup and roll in on the final 50km to Lucca where our hotel awaits.
We’ll have a celebratory dinner in a restaurant in the historic centre of Lucca.
Your bike will be packed up for you and we’ll run a few transfers for the short hop back to Pisa airport.
There’ll be time for a leisurely breakfast and a stroll around the hotel’s grounds.
Accommodation
The hotel combines privacy and prestige. Enjoy personalised service and total comfort at San Luca Palace. It is set within the ancient walls in Lucca’s historic centre, just 800 m from the Cathedral.
San Luca Palace is a modern hotel, which opened in 2007. It is set in an ancient building from 1540.
You can relax in this renaissance scenery of breathtaking views over the city.
Tucked away amidst the quiet green Tuscan hills, the Relais Cappuccina is the ideal place for a comfortable and relaxing stay. The Art Nouveau style villa comprises the main part of the structure.
It was built in the early 20th century by a local nobleman on a Capuchin monastery site. Following meticulous extension and renovation work, a hotel is now a place where ancient and modern come together in perfect harmony, making it the ideal place for a secluded, quiet and relaxing stay that benefits both your mental and physical health.
Thanks to its excellent location, it is within easy reach of the mediaeval town of San Gimignano. It is also an ideal base for discovering the art and history of Tuscany’s other major towns and cities.