La Corsa Presents: Friuli Venezia Giulia in Bicicletta
Dates: Director Deluxe - Coming in 2009
Premium Partners - Call for Dates and Prices
Terrain: Moderate to Rolling Hills, Occasionally Steep | Daily Miles: 40 - 70
Difficulty Level: 4
Friuli Venezia Giulia is yet another cyclist's paradise that is perfect for La Corsa's high standards for bike vacations. The riding is outstanding as the roads are smooth and well paved and the climbs range from gentle and manageable to challenging. All of our Friuli tours will be run out of our base hotel, the beautiful 4 star Grand Hotel President in Spilimbergo. From there, it's a short, traffic-free ride into the spectacular countryside where every ride has, not one, but dozens of interesting destinations. We'll ride through beautiful forests to pre-historic caves and grottos, pass lakes with the greenest water you've ever seen, and through tiny stone towns perched up in the mountains. There are romanesque churches, castles, fortresses and piazzas that will blow you away. We'll even ride to the town of San Danielle for lunch and eat the famous prosciutto that is known around the world.
They say it is 100 kms from everywhere - Venice, Austria, Slovenia, the Alps, the Sea. It's located in the northeastern corner of Italy and was once part of the Austrian Empire. It streches from the Adriatic Sea to the Giulian Alps so the riding is very varied. The food is definately Italian as is the local culture and fantastic wine. (Try the pinot franc).
You can choose from two options for this vacation: as a Premium Partner tour and a Director Deluxe.
Premium Partner - Every month we will offer the tour with our partner, Tomaso Tome, manager of the Grand Hotel President. Tomaso, who is a local Italian but speaks fluent English and German, is an outstanding cyclist and knows the area inside and out. He'll even take you to his family's village. We will offer a week-long itinerary of loop rides to be led by Tomaso. All breakfasts and 4 dinners will be included. Prices have yet to be determined but they will be quite affordable. Call us for more information. Please also note that Tomaso is an accomplished mountain biker as well and can offer Premium mountain bike vacations as well as road bike tours. A great addition to our La Corsa catalog of challenging bike vacations.
Premium Partner tours include the following:
Breakfast, Dinner and energy drinks
Laundry Service
Road bike tours with detailed maps and English speaking guide
Mountain bike tours
Post-ride refreshments
Cycling maintenance/repair room
Free access to hotel Spa, Sauna and Gym
Director Deluxe - In July '09 you will be able to join the Director Deluxe version of this tour. It will be an eight day tour and will be led by Howie or Lori or both of us. It will include all of the fantastic services and amenities you've all come to expect from La Corsa including marked maps, detailed cue sheets, altitude profiles (now created with incredible detail and accuracy using GPS technology) and La Corsa's famed goody bags.
The Carnia Classic Gran Fondo
The highlight of the tour will be our participation in the Carnia Classic, a new Gran Fondo featuring the famed Monte Zoncolan (also referred to as "the Monster") which is considered one of the five most difficult climbs in Europe, perhaps the hardest. The Zoncolan is a 6 mile climb that averages 12% and hits a max of 22%. There will be a short course of 107 km (66 miles) and a 140 km long course (87 miles).
This tour promises to be an outstanding adventure. Lori will be posting more details on our recent exploratory trip to the region on our La Corsa blog shortly: http://lacorsa.wordpress.com/ . Check in and read all about it, and block out the early part of your July '09 calendar. You won't want to miss this one!
Celebrating our 16th Year!
