With the usual spring time slot for the Giro d’Italia being delayed this year, the pro’s will now hit the streets of Palermo for an ITT to get Italy’s Grand Tour under way this Saturday, the 3rd of October 2020.
In honour of the race, we have a program of activity through October that will highlight 6 stages of the race and feature some very local tastes and a vino from the region where each of our 6 stages pass. Our feature stages are:
Stage 3 – Monday 5th October
The race will start in Enna, Sicily with the first 130km hilly and peppered with cobblestoned sections as the riders pass through small villages and towns. The riders will eventually roll past the vineyard of Tenuta Aglaea, before the 18.9km ascent and mountain top finish on Mt Etna.
Region: Sicily
Distance: 150km
Stage 7 – Friday 9th October
Departing from Matera the race will head south on an almost entirely flat and straight 143km run into the Salento region of Puglia, before finishing in the coastal town of Brindisi.
Region: Puglia
Distance: 143km
Stage 9 – Sunday 11th October
Tackling the Queen stage across the Apennines and on a day with 4000+ metres of elevation, the race briefly hugs the Adriatic coastline before the route heads inland and up into Abruzzo. With 26.5km of climbing across two passes, the race then reaches the foot of the final 10km ascent of Roccaraso.
Region: Abruzzo
Distance: 207km
Stage 14 – Friday 16th October
The race enters the Veneto region for the 34km individual time trial from Conegliano to Valdobbiadene, where the riders will test themselves against the clock along the famous Prosecco Road.
Region: Veneto
Distance: 34.1km
Stage 16 – Sunday 18th October
Starting in Udine, the race follows a very winding and undulating route before completing three laps of a finishing circuit in San Daniele del Friuli, the town made famous for its prosciutto. The final km includes a small hill with a 20% “pinch” and final 200m at 10%.
Region: Friuli Venezia Giulia
Distance: 229km
Stage 19 – Wednesday 21st October
With a relatively flat course, this will be a day for the sprinters as they cruise past Lake Como, through the Po plains and finish in the centre of the beautiful town of Asti, Piedmont.
Region: Piedmont
Distance: 253km
Ride
Our riding challenge for October is two pronged; the first to account for all the “free Australians” and the second challenge for those of us with a 5km leg rope in Victoria.
This month is about choosing your own Challenge and Adventure. If there is one challenge that you would prefer over another, by all means choose the one that best suits your desire and available time, and/or create a blended version of km’s and elevation that suits you.
Challenge #1: Ride the km’s
Gran Giro d’Italia
To ride the full 1016km of the above 6 stages across the month of October
Medio Giro d’Italia
To ride 586km across the month of October which represents stages 3, 9 and 16
Piccolo Giro d’Italia
To ride 430km across the month of October which represents stages 7, 14 and 19
Challenge #2: Climb the elevation
Gran Giro d’Italia for Climbers
To clock up a total elevation of 13,220m, which is the elevation of our tour, across the month of October
Medio Giro d’Italia for Climbers
To clock up half the elevation of 6,610m of our tour, across the month of October
Piccolo Giro d’Italia for Climbers
To clock up a third of the elevation of 4,360m of our tour across the month of October
Join our Giro riding challenge: Email us with your personal Giro 2020 experience or tag us into your social posts using #aqtogiro2020
Vino
We are excited to have partnered with the good people of the Prince Wine Store, who have stores in both Sydney and Melbourne, to produce a 6-pack of wine that match our six feature Giro stages and regions.
Valued at $190, our special price for the 6-pack is $150.00 and includes the following varieties.
- Sicily – Tenuta Aglaea Etna Rosso Thalia 2017
- Puglia – Poggio Anima Primitivo Salento Lilith 2018
- Abruzzo- Terre Dei Rumi Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018
- Veneto – Monte Ronca Soave 2019
- Friuli – Venchiarezza Pinot Grigio 2019
- Piemonte – Forteto della Luja Mon Ross Barbera d’Asti 2018
A couple of these varieties are already firm favourites of ours and we think the Etna Rosso is going to be added to that list after one we tried a few weeks back, also recommended by Myles, our trusted wine advisor at Prince Wine Store.
We can’t recommend their wines highly enough and hope you’ll join us on this exciting journey of enjoying a range of vino, Giro d’Italia style.
Buy the Giro Wine Pack: http://www.princewinestore.com.au/shop/index.php/giro-d-italy-6-pack-2020.html
Eat
Finally, and by no means lastly, there is the Giro cucina that we will be sharing.
We will be posting recipes over the coming week that will feature some special local tastes to accompany your vino from each of the 6 regions we’ll traverse throughout October.
Stay tuned for our recipes.
If you have any questions about our Ride, Drink and Eat the Giro ‘virtual’ Tour in October 2020 or our Giro d’Italia cycling tour in 2021, please contact us anytime.
