Piemonte Cycling Tour & Le Tour
Tours Overview
Piemonte is a cyclist’s paradise. With an awe inspiring mountain backdrop, a landscape of narrow winding roads in Le Langhe wine region and climbs made famous by the Giro d’Italia and two of the local protagonists, Girardengo and Coppi, this largely undiscovered region creates an unforgettable cycling adventure.
After a few days exploring the Barolo hills, we’ll take on the awesome Colle di Fauniera in our own version of the Fausto Coppi Gran Fondo and then as the pinnacle of our week, give a nod to Il Campionissimo on the climb of Sestriere in the Cotttian Alps – as the pro’s take on the same roads on the last stage of Le Tour, before it departs Italy.
Here we share with you a combination of sensational riding and world-class wine and food, in the as yet undiscovered cyclist’s paradise of Piemonte (Piedmont).
Look forward to long summer days surrounded by incredible panoramic views of snow capped Alps in the distance and a patchwork of geometric coloured shapes covering the undulating terroir in the foreground, with medieval hilltop towns and ancient castles perched atop their peaks on our cycling tour in Piedmont.
Get off the beaten path and rediscover your taste for adventure. Enjoy the unexpected, the journey, the history, the culture and of course the world class wines and cuisine.
Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
Piemonte & Le Tour Ride Itinerary
Welcome to Piemonte & Le Tour Route
You’ll enjoy daily rides through the spectacular Le Langhe wine region, before taking on Colle di Fauniera and culminating with the final two stages of Le Tour as it rolls through Italy. We’ll do a different ride each day and have you cycling through the picturesque areas and towns of Barolo, La Morra, Barbaresco, Neive, Serralunga d’Alba, before heading over to Cuneo to take on the Gran Fondo route, just with quieter roads and then onto the Cottian Alps.
Welcome to Le LangheWe always start this week with a light loop which provides the perfect introduction to Le Langhe, with its rolling hills that stretch as far as the eye can see, its ancient villages and castles perched atop hills, and the succession of gentle slopes planted with rows and rows of vines, creating magnificent geometric shapes that you will roll between as you ride the two gentle climbs that should loosen your legs after your travels.
Highlight: The descent and views from La Morra
Distance: 32.2km
Elevation: 630m
Niella Belbo As you keep building your condition for Sunday’s Gran Fondo, you only have three rolling hills to contend with today as we head south and deep into the bosco and another beautiful and quiet hamlet, where we’ll stop for coffee before tackling two more beautiful ascents and the the reward of spinning along the ridge line back to Monforte d’Alba for a well earned lunch.
Highlight: A descent along a tiny, empty twisting road, with a densely covered canopy of trees and forest.
Distance: 55.7km
Elevation: 1188m
A Day on the rollercoasterRolling out of Monforte today you will head east, past a imposing medieval castle, you keep descending all the while taking in the splendid views across the vineyards of the low Langhe and the Serralunga before we tackle three more of the “colline” before reaching one of the prettiest towns in Italy
After a light lunch, you will continue your ride through hazelnut groves and more picture postcard vineyards, passing small villages as you make your way back up to Monforte and the villa.
Highlight: The continual rollercoaster of climbs and the descents.
Distance: 87.5km
Elevation: 1926m
Back road explorationIt’s time for you to explore the maze of tiny roads that wind deep into the bosco and the heart of the Cuneo Province, past the sloping vineyards of Dolcetto grapes, which thrive in this area’s clay and limestone soil, and start the day’s climb and a panoramic hill between the valleys of the rivers Tanaro and Belbo. You will then wind your way back through the forest and the vines to Monforte d’Alba.
Highlight: The tiny back roads
Distance: 75.3km
Elevation: 1926m
Heading to the hillsYou say goodbye to Monforte and make your way south past the iconic vineyards of the Barolo region one last time. You take in the jaw dropping view of the snow capped Alps as you roll down the ridge on your way to the flat farm lands on your way to Cuneo and home to the Fausto Coppi Gran Fondo.
Highlight: The open flats lands with the snow capped Alps in the distance.
Distance: 81.7km
Elevation: 984m
Our Own La Fausto Coppi Gran FondoSitting at 2,480m, this is not only a great challenge for the body and the mind, but it also has some of the most amazing landscape you will see on a bike. Open rolling high valleys and craggy rock strewn peaks dissected by a narrow ribbon of tarmac.
Highlight: Colle Fauniera; the challenge of ascent and the adrenalin of the descent.
Medio Fondo
Distance: 111km
Elevation: 2510m
The Rest DayAfter a leisurely start, you will head west towards the French border along tiny quiet roads, flanked by fields of strawberries and orchards of apples and pears with the imposing Alps in the background. We’ll stop for a caffe in a little village at the foot of the mountains before riding the mostly gentle downhill stretch back into Cuneo.
Highlight: The anticipation of what is to come and the expo in the main piazza that takes in the best of Gran Fondo Italy bike brands.
Distance: 60.3km
Elevation: 693m
Welcome to Le TourWe have our first interaction with Le Tour today as it makes its way from Piacenza to Torino. We’ll roll out of our hotel and make our way along the tiny back roads that make up part of Piemonte’s agricultural heart, with endless rows of pear trees and plants bearing kiwi fruit.
We’ll find a spot on one of the day’s climbs and wait for the tour caravan and pro’s to arrive, as we enjoy all the fun and festivity of being part of this great race.
Highlight: Seeing the TDF in beautiful Le Langhe region.
Distance: 91.1km
Elevation: 730m
The Italian TributeToday we’ll pack the bikes before a quick transfer to start our ride near the stage start town of Pinerolo. We’ll commence our only climb of the day, a little over 53km with 3.2% aveage gradient on our way to the french border where we’ll await the arrival of the race and see them depart “bella Italia”.
After seeing off the final rider, we’ll take the amazing descent back to the Valle del Chisone, before transfering via van to our hotel.
Highlight: Watching the race as it crosses the border into France and our final 50+km descent!
Distance: 106.3km
Elevation: 1844m
Pricing & Dates
8295
per person twin share / Maximum 14 guests
Show Price As
2024
Start Location & Details
City: Turin, Italy
Pick Up Location: Porta Nuova Train Station, Turin
Pick Up Time: 11:00am
Finish Location & Details
City: Turin, Italy
Drop Off Location: Porta Nuova Train Station, Turin
Drop Off Time: 11:30am
Inclusions & Details
Accommodation & Meals
- 9 nights accommodation is included in our tour, with twin share and your own private bathroom.
- Single occupancy available. Talk to us when booking
- All breakfasts and dinners at a range of our favourite restaurants, osteria’s and home cooked locations, including nightly aperitivo hour and local wines and beers at each dinner.
- Lunches on the road
Ride Support
- Professional bilingual ride guides with extensive experience in the Piemonte region, local knowledge and first aid skills, ensuring your riding experiences are truly local and take in many of the undiscovered back roads and rolling hills of this spectacular and diverse region.
- Support van on daily rides, with mechanical support and your safety as our priority.
- Nutritious energy snacks and hydration are provided
Transfers & Activities
- All transfers / transportation from pick up to drop off, including baggage and bike transportation.
- Wine tastings and activities as outlined in the detailed tour itinerary.
Ride Kit
- 2 piece, Italian made A’QTO Cycling Kit including jersey and bib shorts.
- Laundry for your cycling clothing.
Not Included
- Airfare.
- Bike hire.
- Travel insurance.
While airfare, bike hire and travel insurance are not included in the Tour cost, they can be fully arranged for you. Talk to us when booking.
Have More Questions About Our Coppi Gran Fondo Tour?
Bike Hire & Gear
Full Carbon Road Bikes
You can choose to hire a Pinarello or Bianchi with a compact crankset.
GPS
An easy to use GPS is provided for your use for the duration of the tour with our daily rides pre installed.
Non-Riding Partners
Non-riding partners enjoy a customised travel program, designed to to deliver a diverse range of activities and the best experiences Piemonte (Piedmont) has to offer. Whether it’s guided walks, visits to beautiful castles and hilltop towns, truffle hunting experiences or cooking classes, Nancy personally hosts non-riding guests each day with a select range of activities to suit the group.
As our non-riding partner program is an active adventure, there is a minimum walking requirement for non-riding guests for each tour. Please enquire when booking.
Accommodation
Food & Wine
Piemonte is a gourmet paradise and we’ll have you enjoying every part of its gastronomic delights.
As the home of Slow Food, the focus of food artisans across the region is on high quality produce and very traditional methods of preparation. When you combine this with the blessing of a terroir that enables the production of some of the best red wines in Italy, and perhaps the world in Barolo and Barbaresco, an abundance of delicately grown and hand picked hazelnuts and the world famous white truffle of Alba, you realise just how special is the produce of Piemonte.
Testimonials
A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE CLIENTS
1. Train. You may think you’re in good shape, but there is no climb in Australia that will let you do 2000m of climbing like Colle Fauniera will. So train. 2. Insure. You are spending a fair bit of cash on a great (GREAT) trip, so as soon as you’ve paid, make sure you’re insured in case you have to cancel. 3. Get there early, especially if you’re taking your own bike. My bike went missing on the return journey. If that happened on the outwards trip, my trip would have been compromised.
