Giro d'Italia "Experience" Week 2 - Tuscany, Piedmont & Switzerland!

Bongiorno and welcome to beautiful Tuscany. We will collect you at Pisa or Florence airports and transfer you to your hotel near the lovely walled town of Lucca. After check-in and a light lunch or snack, we’ll hit the roads for a short test ride to San Giuliano Terme, visit the leaning tower of Pisa, enjoy a coffee of your choice and return to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we’ll hold a tour briefing for the week, hand out the musettes with our premium cycling wear Santini and then regroup for dinner.

After breakfast, we’ll leave for the country roads and narrow country lanes winding around the hills just north of Lucca. Farms, vineyards and forests with stops for coffee, photos and lunch along the way. We’ll rejoin the race route near Montemagno, but before following the race route, we’ll detour to climb the loop above Pietrasanta "Capriglia climb"- highly recommended by Uri and then coast down to the seashore to rejoin the race route, and ride across the Official Giro Finish before mounting the Giro Winner’s Podium for memorable photos. A quick change of clothes later, you will be in the VIP Zone, mingling with like minded fans, and cheering the pros as they sprint for places, points and seconds. We will then transfer you to your hotel.

Starting from the waterfront at Forte Dei Marmi, we’ll ride along the flat coastal Giro route before the pros. At some point, we’ll watch them pass. We’ll follow the winding road through the coastal forest, the hillside villages and towns, and to Porto Mirabello in La Spezia. Lunch above Riomaggiore overlooking the dramatic Cinque Terre coastline. After lunch, there're two options: 1) entails a transfer to Riomaggiore and an easy 1.5-km walk along the shore promenade to Manarola. Then take the Cinque Terre ferry to Monterosso al Mare, leapfrogging along the coast to Corniglia and Vernazza. 2) finds you riding along the winding road high above the Cinque Terre coast, through coastal forest to Monterosso al Mare. The views are magnificent with only 26 km. The GTP van will collect you and transfer you to your next hotel.

Straight after our early breakfast, we’ll ride through the Piedmont rolling landscape of vineyards and truffle groves to the mediaeval village of Neive for a quick coffee, passing by Alba and into Bra. The aim is to be here to access the Giro VIP Start Zone, watch the signing in and the race start. The crowds will line the start and the announcer and DJ help to heighten the growing excitement as each team and leader present themselves at signing in, ride to the start area and then depart. It is something not to be missed. After the pros have left, we’ll head back into the Piedmont hills for a relaxing lunch and wine tasting of the region's specialities, such as Asti Spumante, Moscato d’Asti and Barolo. The GTP van will then transfer you to your hotel above Aosta for a very relaxed evening.

In May the weather is unpredictable, so fingers crossed the weather is kind to us. Starting from Saint-Oyen or Etroubles, we will most likely start climbing immediately. It’ll be a big day with 1,200 plus m of climbing BUT on the plus side, there are over 1,800 m of descending from the magnificent Grand Saint Bernard Monastery at the pass to Sembrancher in Switzerland. The views during the climb are superb and there will be numerous photo ops. The van is nearby to support you. In Sembrancher, the GTP will seep you up and transfer you to the world-class ski resort of Crans Montana to watch the pros arrive over the finish. Then to our hotel to refresh before dinner. If the weather is miserable, we’ll keep the ride route flexible as the weather conditions are often vastly different between the Italian and Swiss sides.

Two options today - The first option is for those of you who would like to repeat yesterday’s climb and descent. Starting from above Brig, you will climb 1,136 m along the same route as the pros, to Simplon Pass, one of the only passes that remain open all year. The roads are wide and immaculate, and as usual, the views are stunning. The second option starts at Simplon Pass. Both the first option and second option riders will descend from 2,006 metres elevation, passing through beautiful steep gorges and eventually to the Toce river valley and then Verbania on the shores of Lago Maggiore. At the lake shore, we will rest for refreshments and watch the pros on their way to the finish line. Then transfer you to your hotel near Lago Como. Dinner at a suitably glamorous place to match the surrounding environment!

The magnificent scenery of Lake Como has enchanted artists and travellers for centuries, and we will ride along the wonderful roads around Como. During our ride, we will cross some of the routes where Fausto Coppi won the Tour of Lombardy (one of the 5 "Monuments" of pro cycling) a record 5 times. From Como, we tackle the steep wall of Muro di Sormano, where later we will go up to Civiglio and ending with a mythical climb called San Fermo. Once again, the crowds will be huge and vocal, and we'll soak up this adulation to drive our legs to the finish line. Enjoy the moment, as it will be an experience and a feeling you will not want to forget.

Today is the final day for our Giro d’Italia Week 2 Experience and we hope that you will feel invigorated and inspired for this summer. Tuscany, Ligurian coastal escarpments, Piedmont hills and towns, over the Alps into Switzerland, and then sweeping back down into the glamorous lakes district of Lombardy. We hope this taste of northern Italy has inspired you to visit again and hopefully with Grand Tours Project.

We will help with checking out and transfer you to Bergamo or Milano airport for your return home or onwards journey to elsewhere.

Stay safe on the roads and hopefully see you soon.