Cycling in Italy

Cycling in Italy combines sporting theatre with an unmatched quality of life on the road. The Giro d'Italia has shaped the country's mountain passes into cycling shrines: the Passo dello Stelvio with its 48 numbered hairpins climbing to 2,758m — Italy's highest paved road — is as much a monument as any cathedral in Rome. The Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, surround the Sella Ronda with some of the most dramatic road cycling terrain on earth: Passo Giau averaging 9.3%, Passo Fedaia at the foot of the Marmolada glacier, and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo toll road climbing to a landscape that belongs more to the moon than the Mediterranean.

For riders who want their cycling served with Chianti and strade bianche, Tuscany delivers a completely different Italian experience. The UCI WorldTour race Strade Bianche is a global cycling event for good reason — the white gravel roads of the Crete Senesi and Chianti Classico have a beauty and character found nowhere else. L'Eroica, the vintage cycling festival held each October around Gaiole in Chianti, draws thousands of riders on steel-framed bikes to celebrate the sport's roots on roads unchanged since the early Giro editions.

Sardinia represents Italy's best-kept cycling secret. The island hosted the Giro d'Italia Grand Départ in 2017 and 2024, and the mountain roads of the Barbagia region — through the Gennargentu massif to Monte Ortobene above Nuoro — deliver serious climbing in complete solitude. The SP roads of the interior carry almost no traffic, road surfaces are excellent on the main climbing routes, and the agriturismo culture of the island rewards unhurried riding between genuine remote villages.

Cycling in Italy works year-round across the country's varied geography: Tuscany and Sardinia peak in spring and autumn (March–May, September–October), while the Dolomites and Stelvio are accessible from June through September only. Italian cycling culture is passionate and knowledgeable — you will be welcomed at every bar and every rifugio.