Stelvio and Italian Lakes Cycling Tour
Riding Days
6
Number of Nights
5
Total Distance
620km
Total Climbing
12,300 metres
Difficulty
4/5
At a Glance
On our Stelvio and Italian Lakes Cycling Tour, We have devised a spectacular 5-night route (with 6 ride days) which allows you to tackle some of the major climbs of the Italian Alps in the Lombardia region and take in two of the Italian Lakes famed for their beauty and attracting the rich and famous to settle on their shores.
Your ‘Raid’, will give you a sense of journey by moving place to place on ride days but also mixing in some days in the same hotel. This allows you the chance to relax without having to unpack and pack every day to move locations.
Your trip will be entirely based in the Lombardia region of northern Italy. The region is one of the largest in Italy and is home to the famous Italian lakes of Lake Como, Garda and Maggiore. You’ll get to experience Lake Como and Lake Iseo; one of the lesser-known lake which has recently become popular as a result of the floating piers, an art installation on the lake in summer of 2016.
Tour Highlights
The Italian lakes come alive in Summer when the weather warms up and sunlight glistens off the waters between the mountains. Ride between the Italian lakes and discover a hidden gem in Lago d’Iseo.
Tour Highlights:
Book Tour
€1,250.00 – €2,600.00
Overview
Italian Lakes and Stelvio - The Region and the challenge
Lombardia (Lombardy in English) is rich in cycling heritage being one of three regions in Italy where cycling is a way of life. Many of the famous Italian professional cyclists, past and present, hail from this region. Names such as Fiorenzo Magni, Felice Gimondi, Francesco Moser, Giuseppe Saronni, and more recently, Maurizion Fondriest, Ivan Basso, Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savodelli. These riders have dominated the Giro d’Italia and races outside of Italy and learnt their trade on their home roads of the Lombardia region.
Lake Como is particularly special to cyclists with the Giro di Lombardia, one of the monuments (the name given to the oldest one-day races) of cycling taking in a lap of the lake in its parcours. The course has traditionally included the Ghisallo climb which winds its way up from the lakeshore at Bellagio to the chapel of Santuario Madonna del Ghisallo at the top. In 1949 the priest persuaded the Pope to admit the Madonna del Ghisallo as the patron saint of cyclists and it has become a shrine to cyclists both living and deceased ever since. The walls are adorned with memorabilia to the fallen and the statue outside the chapel pays tribute to all cyclists. The nearby museum is also worth a visit if you have time.
After leaving the shore of Lake Como you’ll head into the Valtellina valley and head towards the base of the Stelvio which has been the scene to many epic battles in the Giro d’Italia. Valtellina is also home to excellent wines and the locals are campaigning for it to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The dominant grape type is Nebbiolo and produces a delicate, elegant wine. The valley was a scene to a natural disaster in 1987 when a massive landslide caused by heavy summer rains cut off the valley and caused many villages to be destroyed taking with it some loss of life. The ensuing mudslide travelled 2.7 kilometres destroying everything along its path.
The climb at the top of the valley is arguably one of the most famous in Italy if not the cycling world. The Passo dello Stelvio is a massive 2757m above sea level and is famous for its numerous hairpins. You’ll get to tackle both sides of this great climb and experience what it may be like to be part of the Giro d’Italia racing through the tunnels around the hairpins and down the amazing, sweeping descents.
The Gavia is another legendary climb in cycling history with American Andy Hampsten being the first non-European to win a Grand Tour in 1988 due to his ride over this climb. The day saw freezing conditions and snow blizzards as the riders climbed from Ponte di Legno. At the time the top part of the Gavia wasn’t fully sealed and many of the final kilometres were on hard-packed gravel roads. Hampsten, riding on the American 7-Eleven team was prepared with ski gear where other riders suffered in shorts and short sleeves. The American was the fastest descender and took minutes off the race leader Franco Chioccioli into Bormio where he sealed his victory. Images of Chioccioli from that day show how badly prepared he was with his clothing.
Your trip will finish on the shores of Lake Iseo, a destination for mostly Italian tourists, which has found recent popularity amongst foreign visitors due to ‘The Floating Piers’ in 2016 by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The project was a floating golden structure which allowed people to walk from the town of Sulzano to Monte Isola (a large island in the lake) and spanned 70,000 m2. The lake is also the summer home of La Fuga so you’ll be in expert hands as you enjoy your final day in Italy.
Climate
Gearing
Although the gradients are not as steep as areas such as the Dolomites, a compact chainset (offering gearing of 34-50) with a 28 or 32 lowest gear on the cassette is recommended.
Details
What's Included
*Meals are included up to a specific budget after which a supplement will be applied
What's not Included
Itinerary
Your La Fuga guides will meet you at Milan Malpensa Airport and take you to your hotel in Bellagio; this drive will be just over an hour. Here we will help you check-in and our mechanic will build your bike, making sure it is ready for the journey to follow. Depending on arrival time you should have time to test the legs out with a loosener.
We will take you from Bellagio up the Ghisallo taking in spectacular views of the lake and to the chapel at the summit. You’ll then climb the Colma di Sormano before descending back down to the lake and along the lakeshore back to the hotel.
We’ll dine a 2-minute walk from the hotel in a cosy little trattoria on a small harbour under the hotel.
Having spent another night in the Bellagio you will have settled into the gentle and relaxing pace of life on the lake. It is time to move on to the higher mountains, however, although you return to the lake for another night.
The day starts with another ferry journey but to the opposite side of the lake this time at Varenna. You’ve got two major climbs on the program. You will climb the Culmine San Pietro which is a lovely little climb that takes you high up into the Lombardy mountains.
You’ll then descend the Taleggio valley where the famous Italian cheese by the same name comes from. You’ll then start a long climb up to Passo San Marco, this is an amazing climb and spectacular views all around in a very isolated valley. You’ll descend down to Valtellina and then ride flat until the top of the lake where we’ll take a drive towards Varenna to eat up some
kilometres before the return journey back to Bellagio.
You’ll eat in the town of Bellagio this evening on your final night before moving the hotel tomorrow.
Having spent another night in the Bellagio you will have settled into the gentle and relaxing pace of life on the lake. It is time to move on to the higher mountains, however, taking us to the town of Bormio.
You’ll be pleased to know that today’s ride is a gentle amble to the top of Lake Como and into the Valtellina. You will be riding almost all the way up as far as the road can take you rising over 1000m to the base of the Passo dello Stelvio but leaving the ascent to the following day.
After traversing the eastern side of the lake you’ll find yourself on deserted cycle paths winding your way through this steep-sided valley with many vines decorating the slopes on the northern side. The Valtellina wine can be sampled with dinner this evening and maybe even a drop of the powerful ‘Sforzato di Valtellina’ a wine that is made in a similar style to the Amarone di Valpolicella.
The Big Ride! This is the one you have been waiting for: the Passo dello Stelvio. The Stelvio is the highest pass in Italy and the second highest in the Alps at a staggering 2757m.
Our route of around 90km has two ascents of the mountain including the 48 hairpins northern side. We start by climbing the southern
side. This side was climbed by the pro peloton during 2013’s stage of the Giro d’Italia with atrocious conditions greeting the riders as Dario Cataldo took the Cima Coppi and Nairo Quintana attacked as his rivals thought the stage had been neutralised. We don’t quite make it to the top before turning off to descend into Switzerland where we will
have some lunch. We then climb the classic northern face where the hairpins lay out in front of you like spaghetti. Once you’ve made it to the top of this engineering masterpiece all that is left is a fast 21km descent back down to the hotel in Bormio.
Today has a cruel start as we depart Bormio and immediately start the climb of the fearsome Passo di Gavia. From the Bormio side we have 25.6km of climbing to the top at over 2600m. The desolate summit of the Gavia is one of the most evocative points on the whole route and will bring to life Andy Hampsten’s epic ascent and descent in blizzard conditions to win the 1988 Giro d’Italia. This YouTube clip will give you an idea for what the riders went through in the Giro d’Italia of June 1988. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5wPEymv-oQ
Remember to take great care during the narrow and twisty descent of the Gavia which brings us down to Ponte di Legno. We have one more climb of the Passo del Vivione keeping us from descending towards the hotel on Lago d’Iseo.
You’ll arrive on at Pisogne and have a tranquil cycle path to ride to get to the hotel which commands excellent views over the lake.
You’ll eat in a local restaurant in Iseo in the evening taking in samples of the local dishes such as Casoncelli alla Bergamasca, an excellent way to refuel after a hard day in the saddle.
Today you’ll have one last chance to ride with a lap of the Lago d’Iseo. This is La Fuga’s Italian home, so we know the terrain like the back of our hands. The Lago d’Iseo is quite contrasting to Lake Como as it is much smaller and less well known, but by no means less stunning. With a cycle path which comprises of the old road for several kilometres without traffic, there are only small sections through the main towns which break the tranquillity. Sit back and soak up your last ride before your bikes are packed up over lunch and you’re driven back to Milan Linate airport for the journey home.
Accommodation
Hotels may be subject to change from time to time due to availability.
Stelvio and Italian Lakes Cycling Tour
