Cycling the climbs of the Giro d’Italia over Tuscan hills and through Chianti vineyards

Charity: Action Medical Research

Challenge: Il Giro Toscano

Dates: 19/05/2010 -23/05/2010

Deposit: £ 100

Minimum Sponsorship: £ 2300

Grade: Very Challenging

This annual event run in partnership between Action Medical Research and Tesco, takes on the classic cycling routes around Europe. This year we see the group attempting the relentless Tuscan hills.

NOTE: THIS IS A CLOSED EVENT FOR TESCO EMPLOYEES AND INVITED GUESTS ONLY

The Itinerary

Day 1 Warm up Loop
Fly into Italy and transfer to our hotel near Montepulciano. There will be two rides from here giving give you a chance to get your bikes and legs in working order before the big days ahead. The options are to head west towards the famous hilltop wine town of Montepulciano before looping back to the shoreline of Lago Trasimeno. Or doing just one part of the total route. Tonight we’ll have a chance for some wine tasting from the hotels own working vineyard.

Day 2 Montepulciano to Arezzo
Today we enter Umbria and our first climb of the day, Monte Castiglione. This ride heads into the Pratomagno mountain range in the centre of Italy as we cycle towards Arezzo. The ardour of the Pratomagno mountains has given its name to a cycling team, Team Femminile Pratomagno and its own Giro, the Giro del Pratomagno. We will cycle around the medieval city walls of Arezzo before reaching our destination for the night, Casteluccio, where we’ll stay in a wonderful Tuscan Villa and have a chance to take a well deserved dip in the pool.

Day 3 Arezzo to Siena
We’ll really get a feel for the Tuscan hills today as those on the shorter route head south west through quiet rolling hills and vineyards to the town of Monte San Savino, while those that want more hills and kilometeres head north into the foothills of the Alpre di Catenaia taking on two impressive climbs, Mote Capannino and Monte Calvo. This gives you an awesome descent to join up with the other group for the afternoon and ride together into Siena, home of the famous Palio horse race.

Day 4 Siena to Florence
The final day takes us through the rolling countryside of Tuscany towards Florence through the beautiful wine country of Chianti, passing through the valley of San Casciano. Stunning views of vineyards as far as the eye can see accompany us throughout the day as we tackle Tuscany’s unique landscape in the knowledge that the Giro greats have been here and suffered before us!

Day 5
Today is a free day to enjoy all that the historic town of Florence has to offer. The city is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and especially for its art and architecture. The city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. It was long under the de facto
rule of the Medici family and from 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The historic centre of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982.

	Tough		Moderate		Not as Tough but Enough
	Distance (k)	Height (m)	Distance (k)	Height (m)	Distance (k)	Height (m)
Day 1	72	873	46	600	43	319
Day 2	139	1703	120	1577	109	1242
Day 3	160	2443	102	2069	102	1240
Day 4	107	1869	97	1647	74	1006
TOTAL	478	6888	365	5893	328	3807

More Information

Jo Pickard
jpickard@action.org.uk
http://www.action.org.uk
01403 327429

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