Day 8 - 199km 5700m climbing from Castelvechio to Ponte Arche. A big day which starts with a succession of short sharp climbs which before settling into the long but fairly gentle climb upto Passo Branchetto. This is in the Vento region in the province of Verona, where we are rising high above the valley of the Po with the plains stretched out below us. Then onto the Passo Fittanze and a death defying descent of 1200m in 10km - a really worry about rim heat as the brakes are taking a hammering (two people puncture but no crashes). After lunch one of the epic climbs of the trip up the Passo del Creer - a gorge climb 26km in duration with a super steep section in the middle. Rain threatens hear but is never more than a few spots. The final big climb is the Santa Barabara just north of lake Garda. I feel good and press quite hard, although my time is slower than last year, which is a surprise. A feedstop at the top where there is birthday cake for Ollie Fowles. The final climb is up out of Arco on the north shore of Lake Garda, when the skies finally open and the it is a very damp final 15km to the hotel, where the waiter, a keen cyclist, remembers me from last year!
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 07:13:57 +0000
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