- About
- Destinations
- Cycle tours
- Sardinia
- Epic Sardinia
- The North Sardinia Circle Tour
- Sicily
- Sicily's Baroque Ring Biking Tour
- On the Roads of Giro d'Italia in Sicily
- West coast Sicily by bike: In search of the 'real' island
- Sicily Circle Tour
- Epic Sicily
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- Epic Corsica
- Italian Alps
- On the roads of Tour de France
- Como lake Bootleggers' paths
- A luxury journey along bootleggers' paths of Como lake
- On the roads of Giro d'Italia in the Alps
- Legendary climbs of the Alps
- Piedmont
- Piedmont treasures
- Dolomites
- Spectacular Climbs of the Dolomites
- Taste of Dolomites, an E-bike tour
- How to Book a tour
- Orobie Alps: a gem waiting to be discovered
- Bicycle rental
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The focus of Epic Sardinia is on putting together only the nicest, wildest most special roads: those we love most.
Ride Highlights:
ROUTE SS125
On our last day, and on the last descent, we stop right in the middle to enjoy a stop in Orgosolo and grab a cappuccino among the world famous mural paintings that are visited by thousand visitors every year. The last climb of the day is not too far: it's the famous SS125. Our climb begins out Dorgali and in about 20km will take us atop Genna Silana Pass, stage KOM is the 2017 Giro d'Italia.
THE MENTION IS NOT CASUAL: HAVING 150 PRO RIDERS RIDDEN THAT CLIMB, FURTHERMORE ON A DAY WITH SUPER STRONG TAILWIND, MAKES ANY ATTEMPT TO BREAK A RECORD - FOR THE PLEASURE OF YOUR STRAVA FOLLOWERS - A MASSIVE NON SENSE.
 | Total distance: 621.3km |
 | total elevation: 10,964m |
 | Duration: 8 days |
 | difficulty level: Challenge |
Arrival at Cagliari airport and transfer to Chia. Accommodation and dinner at three-star hotel and welcome dinner.
123.1km | 1,547m | 1,541m | 5h
Big news! This year the start of the Epic Sardinia is in Chia, one of the most beautiful seaside locations in the southwest of the island. The south of Sardinia doesn’t feature high mountains or a great mountain range, but that doesn't mean that cycling is easy or without long climbs.
Experienced cyclists know that multiple medium or short hills can be much more painful that a couple of long climbs. Well, on this stage we have everything, so we can compare. After a flat and false flat start, we have have an up and down section along the amazing south west coast road.
The stage is split into two parts, each one featuring a special coastline segment: you'll understand why many think these are some of the best coastal roads in the world.
The first and only long climb of the day starts just after we pass Gonnesa. It's a famous stretch, that can be difficult to ride without stoping. It is not just the grade, but also the spectacular views that beckon you to take a break.
We wouldn't rate this stage as tough. There are many little climbs but they are often short and rarely steep. But as pro riders say, “it's not the course that makes for a hard ride, it's the riders.” So keep calm, Epic Sardinia is only at the beginning! Overnight in a hotel in Portixeddu, with an amazing traditional dinner.
109.1km | 1,952m | 1,462m | 5h
From west coast we ride into central Sardinia, crossing more than half the width of the island before reaching Orroli. Along the way the views, landscape and kind of cycling (pretty much everything) changes slowly but decidedly.
We start the day with a long and winding climb. Each bend in the road seems purpose built for enjoying the sea from above. An unforgettable way to start another Epic day.
From there we start a long stretch across grain fields in the flats of central western Sardinia, before the second part of the stage, that is made up of rolling hills and short climbs up to the old village of Orroli. Accommodation and dinner are in an Albergo diffuso. The location is very typical and the meals are some of the best traditional food you can get in Sardinia.
87.1km | 1,996m | 1,639m | 5h
This third stage survives the big changes introduced in this newest Epic Sardinia – there’s no point in throwing out a winner! From Orroli we ride towards and across the wildest Sardinian region, called Barbagia.
We ride towards the north and after a spectacular and winding descent we get to the lowest point of the ride: the Lower Flumendosa lake. From here we begin the longest climb of the day with the view of the lake on our right side. After a small flat section, we face the second proper climb of the day: seven kilometrs, but with an easy gradient.
With the majority of the climbing behind us we get to enjoy a real gem among the Sardinian roads: the old SS389 that winds along the eastern aspect of Gennargentu mountain range. It's a very remote and wild segment, there aren't many roads like it in Europe. Every time we ride it, we experience the true privilege of being cyclist, as we can take our time and enjoy all the beauty and freedom that our sport can grant. All good things must come to an end, luckly the end of this wonderful road is close to the 4 star hotel in Villagrande Strisaili.
92.9km | 2,139m | 1,892m | 5h
After years running a cycling tour operation we've ridden all over the island. So when asked the inevitable question, "Where is the nicest Sardinian climb?" you can trust our answer, the Talana climb. And after today you will be able to tell us what you think.
To enjoy every single hairpin we need to go all the way down, nearly to sea level. In fact the ascent, that tops at 1100m on Monte Genziana, starts very low, at only 15m ASL. From there it's about 17km up, the first five km is a nice gradual warm up for when the climb appears like a wall in front of us, leaving a 'mere 12km', with average gradient being 6.9%: a piece of cake, and the only 'Hors Catégorie' climb on the island, for those who are more into the pro cycling stats.
We suggest you dont go for a KOM, as the stage doesn't end at top, in fact we are just past halfway and there is one other long climb. However the road up to the Correboi pass: 10km at 3.6% grade, is practically a leg loosener compared to Talana.
The top of Correboi pass - 1246m - is really spectacular as it's like a terrace with a view on both the east and the west. It's also close to our destination in the town of Fonni.
99.8 | 1,987m | 1,990m | 5h
We'll see how the Gennargentu can be sweet, offering low inclines for most of the ride. But we'll also see that it can be bloody hard, if you don't respect the last climb to the Bruncu Spina col, to conquer the highest road on the island. We start from the Agriturismo near Fonni at 1100 m above sea level for an anticlockwise loop. After a long descent, we come to the first two climbs of the day, neither of which are particularly long or steep.
The longest climb of the whole tour begins right before Tonara and continues all the way up to the intersection at Tascusì pass (1250m). This is a second category climb and is nearly 23 km long, with an average incline of 3%. Don't worry as we plan a stop in the middle, at Tonara, to enjoy a coffee and some blocks of the world famous Torrone of which this town is proudly a renowned maker. Leaving Tonara with the pockets full of Torrone, we're ready to complete the climb up to the pass. From there, we can enjoy a short descent before the last challenge: the final climb up to the 1560m of Monte Bruncu Spina, where the ski facilities are located. No time (nor weather) for skiing, we ride down back to where we started the day. After a glorious ride, we’ll spend another night at the same hotel in Fonni.
119.1km | 1,626m | 2,750m | 5,30h
Back to the Sea could be the title of the sixth stage. For those who think that this will be easy, well, it’s not. During this stage we’ll experience some of the most fascinating and known hills. Leaving Fonni we ride downwards towards the eastern coast.
In the middle of the descent we will enjoy a stop in Orgosolo and grab a cappuccino among the world famous mural paintings that are visited by thousand visitors every year.
The last climb of the tour is not far. It begins after the town of Dorgali and in about 20km will take us atop Genna Silana Pass. Unfortunatly for KOM hunters the Strava KOM was set durring a stage of the 2017 Giro d'Italia.
Mentioning is not just a joke: as on that day in 2017 it wasn't just 150 of the best pro riders racing up this climb, but there was also a massive tailwind. This makes any attempt to break the record - for the pleasure of your Strava followers - almost certain to end in failure.
All levity aside, after reaching the top at your own pace you will be rewarded with a lunch stop right in front of the Gorropu gorge, the deepest canyon in Europe. While your legs maybe happy to know all the climbing is over we hope your heads and hearts will disagree as this means the end of the tour is near. We have one last fun and long descent before we get to our destination: the lovely resort of Santa Maria Navarrese. We’ll overnight at a three-star hotel near the beach.
Group transfer to Cagliari airport and end of services.
Travel arrangements
The best airport for arrivals is Cagliari airport (CAG): from there we arrange the group transfer to Chia. Other options are possible and we can help you select the best one.
Food & Drinks during stages
During the rides we plan at least one longer food stop in the middle of the stage plus one or more coffee stops. In the assistence van we have bars, gels and water.
Necessary Gear
Our guests will get a pre tour info kit that gives useful suggestions on how to enjoy our trips in full. Here is a quick selection that might be useful at this stage.
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We suggest renting a Canyon bike with us. But feel free to bring your own bike. Just consider bringing along a selection of model specific spare parts (ie. derailleur hangers).
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The hotels have a room for the bikes, and we will have a selection of tools to perform basic maintenance.
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Bring along a wide selection of clothes, including some full arm jackets, rain coat, leg and arm warmers: there are a lot of hilly areas where the weather is never completely predictable.
