ciclismo
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Follow Contador 2016 Gran Canaria... 3 days cycling with Alberto and Polartec

Follow Contador in Gran Canaria

Have you ever cycle in Gran Canaria? Have you ever trained with a real pro cyclist?
Last week end I had the chance to take part at one of the most amazing experience that a normal cyclist as I am would like to do.

Polartec, the american company well known to make innovative fabrics for the biggest outdoor brands is now going more and more into cycling world. Their collaboration with Fundacion Contador Team founded by the legend of cycling Alberto Contador gives them the chance to test and experience on real cyclists new materials made just to be confortable in any kind of atmopheric situation.

Polartec is supporting and sponsoring the organisation which discovers young talented cyclists and transmit them passion for this sport and values such as honesty, friendship, respect and sacrifice.

How it started

Follow Contador

Polartec announced in August a cycling contest where, connecting the app Strava, who cycled 1000 km in a month could be chosen to take part at the #FollowContador camp in Gran Canaria Island, Spain. A great oppurtunity for who is not a pro rider but loves to cycle a lot.

So, as one of the media guest, Friday October 28th, I flew to Gran Canaria to take part at this special event. I wasn't expecting it was so warm but I provided bringing with me some summer clothes.

I immediately had a really nice feeling about the place, the people that I met, the winners of the contest coming from all over Europe and the organisation. 

I had with me just my Brooks England saddle and pedals because Free Motion Bike Center set for us the road bikes on the ride sizes, ready to be used. I couldn't wait to jump on the bike and go to discover the island.

Three days with Alberto Contador

#Follow Contador - Day 1

Alberto Contador joined us the last two days but at our very first experince with the crew in Gran Canaria we had a nice ride to Touropass with Ivan Basso and Jesus Hernandez from Team Tinkoff.
It was already pretty warm for me that I'm not used anymore at the almost 40 degrees but we managed very well to get to the top, challanging the first Strava segment chosen for this event.

Every day, in our cycling tour, we had to test us in a climb of more or less 8-10 km recording the track via GPS.

We all couldn't wait for the second day where Alberto Contador was going to join us. I never though to have a such a big opportunity to ride with a legend of cycling. I didn't know what to expect or if I could have a chance for a small chat with him.

#Follow Contador - Day 2

The group was riding very fast, sometimes 35 km/h, sometimes 46 km/h up and down on the coast... A bit to fast to start a ride of 82km with about 1800 m... But the peloton was compact and everyone pretty much at the same level. It wasn't the right time of the season for long rides in Gran Canaria beacause the temperature at midday was very high. That's reason which made my climbs harder.

Follow Contador Gran Canaria 2016
I'm not a really good climber, I'm pretty much the last of the group almost all the time.

The white Polartec jersey was a good choice and the material which is made with it is really nice and perfect for hot temperature. It also dries up very quickly. 

I've been refreshing myself often just to don't get my head to hot and feel sick. Riding most of the time with Juliet Elliot, but the best moment was when Alberto came to join us for a bit of pedaling together... A small time with him made our moment very motivating and surpised us about his personality and his availability...
Than the challange started and everyone sprinted to the top!

We met again everyone at the top where the breeze was cooler and we could have some restoring food... Thanks to Free Motion Bike Center of Gran Canaria. We where just at the half of our tour.

A great descent to San Bartolomè de Tarajana overtaking safari jeeps was for me a full of adrenaline. I'm slow on climbing but I give all myself when the road is going down. I loved it so much and the landscape around me was really incredible.

The group was gathered, we where all satisfied! It was time to go back and have a relaxing swim in the pool.
Follow Contador Gran Canaria

#Follow Contador - Day 3

I knew already that the day after was going to but much harder... I wasn't sure to take part at the ride... Maybe just for the Strava segment... I was going to see how my legs were feelling in the morning. But I didn't want to miss this opportunitity of the last ride of the #FollowContador camp. I was there and i wanted to give it a go!!!

101 km to ride, 2550 m of elevation, about 48 km to the top of Pico de Las Nieves. The tour started to going up just after the beginning from the hotel. The sun was high already... When you are there you are in the game, so you just push on your pedals to reach the first top of the climb.

The Strava segment started and I couldn't manage to ride all the way up... I had to get a lift otherwise I could keep going further than that point. But I know myself, I can not give up like that. At the top I jumped back on my bike, i wasn't sure how much kilometers we still had in from of us to reach the top.

Well, we splitted in different groups and we started. It tooks me a lot to get at Pico de las Nieves... It was real suffering, incredibly hard, so steep... I really wanted to jump on the van, but I had some incredible people helping me so much. The guys of the Fundacion Contador Team are really strong cyclist and so kind... They could be much faster on that climb but they didn't want to let the tail of the group alone... They kept telling me "you are here, you will do it, no worries!".
Follow Contador Gran Canaria 2016

It was tough for everyone, even harder for Francisco and Juan and one of the guides, but the girls reached the top with their incredible support. 
Finnally one of the most difficult climbs of Europe was done, it was time to enjoy the long and fast way down to the sea and ride back to the hotel.

Many thanks!!!

I want to say big THANK YOU to Polartec that made this happen, to Fundacion Contador Team for the nice time spent together, to Alberto Contador to joined us and sharing with averyone this experience and to Your Big Stories to have captured these incredible moments!
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My first Gravel Road Challenge... My first victory!


My first Gravel Road Challenge and my first victory in one of my favorite place to ride any kind of bicycle like Punta Ala in Tuscany

Last week end I had the chance to go back to one of those locations where any kind of cycling is possible: the Maremma Toscana.

The chance to take part to one gravel road race was in my plans and the Gravel Road Challenge of Punt Ala has been the best occasion to do it.
I'm actually riding a pure gravel road bike, a Santa Cruz Stigmata that I only have been riding it on asphalt, so I changed my tires from completely slick to some more tessellated ones, perfect for dirt, muddy and a bit rocky roads.

I knew already that was going to be a great event. The spirit is about "have fun and taste the local specialities" more that race, race, race.
So we met at 9 to get number and everything set to start the race. We are Italian so we need to take time for a coffee and a bit of chat before the event begins.

The PuntAla Camping Resort and Punta Ala Trail Center hosted the event right on the Tuscan coast and impossible not to take some shots on the beach to post them straight away on my instagram. Well, that place is really great and well served for any kind of biker.

The Gravel Road Challenge format works exactly the same as an Enduro mountain bike race. We've got our times of the transfers to stick on our bike and the finish time that we have to be back. The race count the time of three special stages where you have to go faster than you can.
So we all head to the first stage at the right time and one after the other, we started to rock'n'roll. An amazing dirt road to climb as first hard piece of race and than a fast and pretty bumpy downhill where I think a some point I tried to got as fast as I could without know where I was going, shaking on my bike. The adrenaline was much stronger than my fear but just after the stage I realized what I did.

I know also that I missed a stunning view on the coast of Castiglione della Pescaia, but I was for sure super happy because I didn't crash!

So one stage done and the first feed zone was there waiting for us. Wine, sweets, pizzette and delicious things were there to satisfy our hunger.
Heading to stage two we had a couple of hours where we had the chance to ride all together in a big group through the countryside where the sinuous gravel roads climb smooth hills of vineyards.
Stage three was actually flat, but against the wind in a rough section of puddles and stones.

After this one, the race wasn't finished yet but the it looked like we had a price. We ended up at Tenuta le Mortelle, one of the Antinori's Vineyard of Tuscany. Wine taste, delicacies and some bio fruits were waiting for use to feed us and give us energy for the next and last stage. 

A pure immersion in a typical Tuscan farm surrounded by the Mediterranean maquis. No water at the buffet, but tasty white, rosè and red wine.

So it was time to head to the coast where the start of the third stage was waiting for the riders. After climbing Tirli's road and surviving at the storm, another pit stop was right in the village center, but I did just a quick stop to don't get cold and don't loose time... We had still few kilometres before the last shot.

The sun came back out and the air was warm again and made our last part of the race perfect. The dirt road to the start was still a long way before to get at the judges spot.

This made my victory at the my first Gravel Road Challenge.

It was for sure a special sunday for my win, for the weather that wasn't to bad, for the people that had fun with me and for the nice locations which we had the chance to ride through.

I was looking at the time scrolling quickly on my Garmin screen and I was worried that I was not going to make in time with the risk to get late at the start line. But I've got there 10 seconds just before my start. I just had the time to open my gilet and go... Go as faster as I could. I knew already that road which takes to Cala Violina, a famous bay near Punta Ala... But I couldn't remember the two climbs after, that took us to the finish line.

During my pedaling up I could see people jumping off the bike and walk... But walking is slower and harder especially with those cycling shoes, so I tried my best and pedaled up to the last meters of the stage. That sandy and soft gravel road wasn't helping me on climbing up. But I made it, we all made it... And I was in perfect time so i didn't get any extra minutes charged on my total time.

The area between Punta Ala, Castiglione della Pescaia, Follonica and Massa Marittima which goes from the sea to the highest hills of the Maremma, is an ideal area for every cyclist. Mountain biking, road biking, cycle tourism, gravel road biking, e-biking, enduro... It's some of you can do here!

 // Photo credit Alex Boyce
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Gravel Road Challenge Punta Ala, prima edizione



Domenica 18 settembre si sperimenta un nuovo stile di fare ciclismo. Non è la prima volta che pedalo la mia bici da strada su poderali non asfaltate, ma questa domenica avrò modo di partecipare alla mia prima gravel.

Non poteva esserci occasione migliore per debuttare in questa disciplina piuttosto nuova in Italia, visto che l'evento sarà in Toscana. Questa regione, terra di grande ciclisti che hanno fatto la storia delle due ruote mi ha da sempre affascinato e lo ha fatto ancor di più quando sono arrivata a diretto contatto con i paesaggi che ci sono li.

La fortuna di avere trascorso mesi in Maremma nella zona che va tra Follonica, Castiglione della Pescaia e Massa Marittima mi ha fatto vivere un ciclismo a tutto tondo. Questa vasta zona, che si disperde nella macchia mediterranea, si può decisamente dire che si presta molto bene sia per il ciclismo su strada che mountain bike. Infatti molte squadre professionistiche tra cui la nazionale italiana XC vanno a iniziare la stagione ciclistica proprio in quelle zone.

Dopo aver debuttato alla mia prima gara di Enduro mountain bike quest'anno e aver passato i mesi più freddi in un clima mite e piacevole, ora ritorno a Punta Ala per un'altra mia prima volta... al Gravel Road Challenge Punta Ala.
L'evento, organizzato dal Punta Ala Trail Center e il Camping Resort PuntAla, è la sucessione di altre gare di livello internazionale e regionale che già hanno fatto fatto conoscere la zona che si affaccia sul mar mediterraneo.


Giusto qualche settimana fa ho avuto il piacere di contribuire e raccontare l'Enduro in Maremma, attraverso un articolo pubblicato nella prima edizione del magazine Tuscany Cycling Season; una rivista che non solo mi vede presente come autrice di un pezzo ma la cui ho avuto modo di pubblicizzare alla fiera europea della bicicletta Eurobike.

Quindi, non mi resta che cambiare i copertoncini dalla mia Stigmata e preparami per la mia prima Gravel Road challenge.

A presto con tante foto.
Seguitemi su instagram per avere immagini in tempo reale.
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