Post by Steve Sorba on Oct 19, 2006 19:58:03 GMT
Rather than high-jack the Etape thread here is some info on the Campagnolo.
www.granfondocampagnolo.it/
This will be last year's site as the new one doesn't kick in till closer to the date.
I've attempted the Granfondo once and was broomed after getting to the top of the Manghen on one of the hottest days of the year. It was one of the things that led me to joining the Dulwich, losing weight and buying a Pinarello. I went back the next year and in torrential rain, (snow on the top of the Manghen) settled for the mediofondo as being so experienced of riding on the continent I hadn't even brought arm warmers let alone a rain cape. I'll never forget the descents with newspapers stuffed down our shirts and shaking like a leaf. At the feed they were handing out bidons of hot lemon tea! The advantages over the Etape are numerous. You get to fly to Venice and if you're clever can find the time to visit before the return flight. Nice little ferry from the airport there and back. The old part of Feltre is very pretty and the scenery around you is spectacular. Fly out crack of dawn on the Friday and you can go for a quick 60km just to get your legs warmed up in the afternoon, maybe aim for Monte Grappa. Get your numbers on Saturday morning and spend too much money on cycling bling followed by a ride up to Croce D'Aune (it's the final descent on the day) to have a coffee by the Campagnolo monument. Sunday get in line with 3000 others and suffer like you've never suffered before. And there are three routes so that you can decide exactly how much suffering you'd like to do. It's big enough to be spectacular but not so big you get swamped. When you finish, you're back where you started not 180km away. This means you can go back to your hotel get changed go back to the finish line and wait for Steve to arrive. Once you're all assembled Claudio Chiappucci will present you with a trophy for being second best team. (We didn't know we were a team) Monday morning ride out again into the Dolomites or sneak off to Venice or visit the Pinarello factory and shop in Treviso on the way. Monday evening flight home. The flights from Stanstead were around £100 and I'm sure hotels would be reasonably cheap and available if booked far enough in advance.
Last year I did the Etape instead, a stage in the Pyrenees, and thoroughly enjoyed that too. There are obviously a lot more people and it is a lot more glamorous. However getting a place without using a tour operator can be difficult and the logistics much more complicated. The roads are completely closed for the Etape whereas on the Campagnolo it's a rolling road closure so if you're off the back you'll eventually be competing with cars. Then again I thought the food stops were rubbish in France (similar to Flanders) whereas the Italians actually gave you things you could swallow. In terms of difficulty the Etape changes each year but I would be hard pressed to finish the Granfondo in less than 11hrs (there's about 70km of climbing) which is more like the Tour Of Flanders. Still, the Etape is the Etape and I'm glad I did it. As a point of interest I noticed an article in an Italian cycling magazine about the Etape which said that 2000 spaces were reserved for foreigners This year approximately 1500 of them were British, 23 were Italian!
Personally if I had the time, the money and a forgiving family I'd do both. As it is I think I have to go back to Italy and get over the Manghen without that ambulance hovering in the distance....
www.granfondocampagnolo.it/
This will be last year's site as the new one doesn't kick in till closer to the date.
I've attempted the Granfondo once and was broomed after getting to the top of the Manghen on one of the hottest days of the year. It was one of the things that led me to joining the Dulwich, losing weight and buying a Pinarello. I went back the next year and in torrential rain, (snow on the top of the Manghen) settled for the mediofondo as being so experienced of riding on the continent I hadn't even brought arm warmers let alone a rain cape. I'll never forget the descents with newspapers stuffed down our shirts and shaking like a leaf. At the feed they were handing out bidons of hot lemon tea! The advantages over the Etape are numerous. You get to fly to Venice and if you're clever can find the time to visit before the return flight. Nice little ferry from the airport there and back. The old part of Feltre is very pretty and the scenery around you is spectacular. Fly out crack of dawn on the Friday and you can go for a quick 60km just to get your legs warmed up in the afternoon, maybe aim for Monte Grappa. Get your numbers on Saturday morning and spend too much money on cycling bling followed by a ride up to Croce D'Aune (it's the final descent on the day) to have a coffee by the Campagnolo monument. Sunday get in line with 3000 others and suffer like you've never suffered before. And there are three routes so that you can decide exactly how much suffering you'd like to do. It's big enough to be spectacular but not so big you get swamped. When you finish, you're back where you started not 180km away. This means you can go back to your hotel get changed go back to the finish line and wait for Steve to arrive. Once you're all assembled Claudio Chiappucci will present you with a trophy for being second best team. (We didn't know we were a team) Monday morning ride out again into the Dolomites or sneak off to Venice or visit the Pinarello factory and shop in Treviso on the way. Monday evening flight home. The flights from Stanstead were around £100 and I'm sure hotels would be reasonably cheap and available if booked far enough in advance.
Last year I did the Etape instead, a stage in the Pyrenees, and thoroughly enjoyed that too. There are obviously a lot more people and it is a lot more glamorous. However getting a place without using a tour operator can be difficult and the logistics much more complicated. The roads are completely closed for the Etape whereas on the Campagnolo it's a rolling road closure so if you're off the back you'll eventually be competing with cars. Then again I thought the food stops were rubbish in France (similar to Flanders) whereas the Italians actually gave you things you could swallow. In terms of difficulty the Etape changes each year but I would be hard pressed to finish the Granfondo in less than 11hrs (there's about 70km of climbing) which is more like the Tour Of Flanders. Still, the Etape is the Etape and I'm glad I did it. As a point of interest I noticed an article in an Italian cycling magazine about the Etape which said that 2000 spaces were reserved for foreigners This year approximately 1500 of them were British, 23 were Italian!
Personally if I had the time, the money and a forgiving family I'd do both. As it is I think I have to go back to Italy and get over the Manghen without that ambulance hovering in the distance....