We are excited to launch this new tour on our 2021 Tour Calendar that brings together the spectacular Italian Lakes, Alps and Dolomites. We first ran a version of this tour as our Giro d’Italia Tour in 2019 and it was an overall sensational experience – from the riding, to the food and wine, and for our non-riding partners who joined us. So, we decided to launch it as a regular tour on our calendar and have many more people experience the fun because in our view, it is a climber’s dream and the ultimate riding experience of Italy’s northern Alpine regions.
If your bike bucket list includes many of the famous climbs of Italy, then this tour is definitely for you.
The Destination
Combined – Lake Como, the Alps & Dolomites – bring together the best of Italy’s northern beauty and will take your breath away throughout every day of this northern Italian adventure.
Lake Como is an oasis of tranquility, with its quaint villages and lakeside villas surrounded by majestic mountains. The two stand in stark contrast, but together make for an unforgettable experience. With breathtaking views of the lake, the rides around Lake Como are to be experienced in your lifetime.
After exploring Lake Como, our adventure will take us to the Italian Alps of Lombardia. Known for the intense beauty of its mountain landscapes, this Alpine area in the Valtellina is as we know a beloved cycling destination – thanks mostly to the one and only Passo dello Stelvio.
From there, we venture to the Dolomites where the scenery only becomes more jaw-dropping-ly beautiful with its unique, majestic peaks. Morning, day and night, you will be in awe as the changing colours and mood of the landscape move with you up and down each climb….and yes, there are some bucket list climbs for us to take on here.
The Riding
We are excited to include the pinnacle of Italian climbs as part of this tour. You will experience the pure magic of our Lake Como Bike Tour, Bormio, the home of Stelvio and the central Dolomites with a ride itinerary that maximises each of these naturally beautiful areas and their bucket list climbs.
The climbs to the famous church of Madonna di Ghisallo & the beautifully steep Muro di Sormano will see us in climbing heaven in the Como area, before we tackle the triple treat of Mortirolo, Stelvio and Gavia from Bormio, and then over to the Dolomites to “tick off” Colle Santa Lucia, Passo Giau, Passo Falzarego, Passo Valporola, and then finally Sella Ronda, and its four passes of Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella and Gardena. It honestly does not get much better than this, all in the balmy air of an Italian Summer in July.
For a full overview of our ride itinerary that takes in 510km’s and 13,665m of elevation over 9 exhilarating days, visit our tour page.
The Food & Wine
The food and wine experience of our Como, Stelvio & Dolomites bicycle tour takes in the very best of the regions of Lombardia and South Tyrol, and provides an immersive cultural journey across the lakes and mountains.
Some of our favourite food experiences across our tours make up part of the experience here. From a rustic, family run Osteria in Como that has been around since the early 1920’s and carries on all the Lombardian tradition from the menu to the wines and the overall ambience, this experience is one we always love coming back to.
Then in Bormio, we savour the organic produce and home cooking at our very own agriturismo where the 4 course degustation menu, sampling all the Valtellina’s recipes and late stage, hand-picked red wines, is absolutely what the doctor ordered after a day out on Mortirolo.
From there, the Ladin tradition of South Tyrol awaits us in the Dolomites with a traditional menu in the home of a very special Ladin family. With home-made specialties of mezzelune pasta and canederli in brodo (amazing local bread dumplings in soup) to name just a couple of dishes, this is an experience that we treasure, all with a dining room view that is straight from a dream.
For Non-riding Partners
The non-riding partner experience on this tour is wonderful, particularly if you love nature.
We take in all the very best that Lake Como has to offer over 3 days including a boat cruise, visits to the most beautiful lakeside towns, villas, gardens and specialty stores and cafes, before we head to the mountains.
Our 5 days in the mountains sees us enjoying spectacular walks in nature of varying levels of difficulty, depending on where our non-riding partners are at. From hikes to mountain huts and small churches 2000m above sea level (yes, even the non-riders reach these levels of elevation!), scenic walks through valleys and green pastures, and to the immersive experience of making and tasting cheese in the home of a local cheese making family for a day, you’ll love every minute of this nature-filled experience.
For more information about our Como, Stelvio & Dolomites tour, visit our tour page.
