TRIP DETAILS:
Duration: 8 days (7 nights)
Dates: Monday 22 September to Monday 29 September
Start-Finish: Milan Malpensa Airport
Accommodation: 4 Star Premium Hotels
Deposit: USD* $938 - Secure your spot now.
Trip Inclusions
Monday, 22nd September 2008
Arrival and Opening Ceremony
There will be someone to meet you at Milan Malpensa Airport and assist you to your transport which will transfer you to our 4 star hotel near Lake Como.
We recommend a mid morning to early afternoon arrival to prevent the possibility of having to wait for your room to be made ready. We will spend the next 7 nights at this hotel.
Our first job after checking in will be to assemble your bike. Our staff will be on hand to assist if you have any problems.
Time permitting we will schedule a 50km ride this afternoon.
Known throughout the world as the “Garden City”, Varese is one of Italy’s most captivating provinces. Seen from above it looks like a green handkerchief embellished with striking blue patterns: lakes, woods and hills intertwine in an ever-changing array of shapes and colours that stun the tourists with breathtaking landscapes.
Visitors to the Province of Varese are blessed with a wealth of opportunities. Whatever your interest, there’s something for everyone to discover. From prehistoric times through to modern day, every era has left its mark in this part of Lombardy. Let your imagination run wild! There are as many things to see as there are different types of tourism; from wildlife and the environment to Varese’s heritage of art, history and culture.
The unique aspect of these attractions is that although they can be discovered by car, the ideal method of transport just happens to be the bicycle… better still if combined with the ferry!
The 1951 World Championships in Varese
The year is 1951. The city is just beginning to recover from the war. The journalists of the time provided massive coverage of the event whilst Varese introduced itself to the world, thanks to a very enthusiastic organising team led by Togn Ambrosetti.
The year is 2008. Varese, a captivating area and the heart of Italy’s passion for cycling, has extraordinary financial and organisational resources focussed on re-launching the Worlds’ challenge. Harking back to Varese’s truest tradition, local authorities and leading entrepreneurs are ready to organise an event that will be remembered for many years to come.
There were eight riders vying for the title. Bevilacqua and Minardi had a misunderstanding with Magni (all Italian) in the final dash to the line and Ferdy Kübler won himself a well-deserved world championship title. The remaining two podium places went to Italians: Magni was second and Bevilacqua third.
Tuesday, 23rd September 2008
Under 23 Men Time Trial
The Under 23 route will follow the Elite Women course almost completely. It is a homage to the historic course of the 1951 World’s, with the addition of an loop leading in to the South of Varese. Then it’s the final rush along the straight towards the Hippodrome. The total distance is a little less than 35 km.
Six competitions, road races and time trials, held over six race days with the start and finish lines for all the races in the heart of the city, in the “Le Bettole” racecourse.
In 2007 Lars Boom of the Netherlands’s took the gold medal in the Under 23 World Championships Time Trial after a hard-fought two-man duel with Russia’s Mikhail Ignatiev. The 21 year-old came back from an eight-second deficit at the first time check to better his Russian rival, Ignatiev by eight seconds, with a time of 48′57″ (46.86 km/h). France’s Jerome Coppel won bronze with a time of 49′43″.
Our hotel is not far from the famous Chapel and Cycling museum on top of Ghisallo so the option will be to ride to Ghisallo from our hotel up the prettier and much steeper side that starts at the beautiful lakeside village of Bellagio on Lake Como. The views from the Chapel alone are well worth the ride. We expect this will be a popular ride this week. Afterwards we will return to the hotel and head out to see the race in the afternoon.
The Shrine to Cycists- The site of the first part of today’s double last stage is the time trial finishing at the Shrine to Cyclists in the small chapel overlooking Lago di Lecco at Magrello. The Beata Vergine Maria Del Ghisallo was made the patron saint of Italian cyclists by Pope Pious XII in 1949 and her chapel is a shrine to cycling’s past and present greats. Around the walls of the chapel is a collection of plaques, jerseys, bicycles etc worn or ridden by the greats. There is the bike ridden by Coppi to victory in the Giro in 1949 and the machine used by Moser for the hour record in 1984. The names represented are a who’s who of cycling. When we visited last year there was a museum in the stage of construction and hopefully this will be completed.
Wednesday, 24th September ‘08
Elite Women Time Trial
This morning (and each morning) we will schedule a ride in the lake Como area. There are so many beautiful roads to ride it will be impossible for us to do them all this week however we will try!
The Elite Women route will be more or less the same of the 1951 World Championships. Athletes will need to manage their energies, after Brinzio it is still quite a way to reach the Hippodrome of Varese, after a little more than 26 km.
The courses used for the three time trials venture well beyond Varese’s city walls. The time trial specialists will be heading out into the paradise surrounding the Garden City, over the hills and around the lakes, along spectacular technical routes with evocative landscapes to provide the perfect backdrop to this global event.
Taking victory in the elite world’s time trial is a huge moment for any rider, but for a non-favourite to win gold on home soil is truly a dream come true. In 2007, 33 year old Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) took gold after placing third in previous road and time trial worlds.
Kupfernagel went off as part of the first wave of riders, starting tenth, and smashed the initial time checks, ending her effort 2 minutes 8.69 seconds of previous leader Martina Ruzickova (Czech Republic). She had to endure an extremely nervous wait, though, with the top-seeded riders to follow and defending champion Kristin Armstrong not starting until two hours after the German.
In the end, it was worth the stress. Her average speed of 43.432 km/h around the tough 25.1 kilometre course eventually saw her finish 23.47 seconds clear of Armstrong, with Christiane Soeder (Austria) 41.53 seconds down in third.
In 2008 the winner will be ……………….?
Thursday, 25th September ‘08
Elite Men Time Trial
This morning (and each morning) we will schedule a ride in the lake Como area.
The Elite Men route will be about 46 km. It will circumnavigate Lake of Varese. The tough finale will decide the race.
In 2007 Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland repeated his 2006 success in the World Championships Time Trial by going 52 seconds faster than Hungarian Laszlo Bodrogi. The 26 year-old who scored his first gold medal in Salzburg blasted through all the intermediate time checks in top spot, and closed out the 44.9-kilometre parcours in Stuttgart with a time of 55′41″. Dutchman Stef Clement rounded out the podium at almost one minute back from Cancellara.
In 2008 will Fabian Cancellara make it a hat trick?
Friday, 26th September ‘08
Under 23 Men Road Race
This morning we will schedule a ride in the lake Como area. There are so many beautiful roads to ride it will be impossible for us to do them all this week however we will try!
The road course is 17km long and wholly runs across the city of Varese. As for all the races the route will start and finish inside the Hippodrome. The total rise (3,632 metres) is worthy of a high mountain stage due to two climbs that the riders will face at every lap.
The first one is the Montello climb: 1.15km at an average gradient of 6.5%, followed by a quite technical descent. The highest point of the Ronchi climb is placed with 4 km to go: 3.13km at an average gradient of 4.5%.
In 2007 Peter Velits of Slovakia powered to the head of the sprint to become Under 23 World Champion. The 22 year-old successfully capped off the 171.9-kilometre day that was marked by numerous escapes. Two bike lengths back at the finish were Australian Wesley Sulzberger in second and Brit Jonathan Bellis in third.
Saturday, 27th September ‘08
Elite Women Road Race
This morning we will schedule a ride in the Lake Como area.
Today it will be time to see who will be Queen of the Road for 2008. The course is the same as that for the Under 23 Men’s race.
This race is usually very tactical however this year the course may have some say in matters with its difficult climbs. We will find a good spot to see the race probably on the Ronchi climb and see the race from there. However you will be free to wander the course and find a good location.
The first Women’s Worlds was initiated in 1958 when the International Cycling Association set up the women road trial that was conquered by Ely Jacobs.
In 2007 the female Squadra Azzurra rode with notable aggression in the elite women’s road race, taking three out of the top five places.
Three years ago, Marta Bastianelli finished as runner up to Marianne Vos in the junior worlds in Verona. This time around, the now-20 year old turned the tables on the similarly-aged Dutchwoman, attacking fifteen kilometres from the end and finishing six seconds clear.
Vos had to be content with silver, sprinting in at the head of the 16-strong chasing group. Bastianelli’s compatriot Giorgia Bronzini finished just behind her, netting bronze, while Svetlana Bubnekova (Russian Federation), Noemi Cantele (Italy) and Emma Johansson (Sweden) completed the top six.
Sunday, 28th September ‘08
Elite Men Road Race
No cycling for us today!
We will leave the hotel early and head across to see the “Main Event” of our week at the World’s. This is the day we’ve been waiting for! Today is the day the King of the Road will be crowned.
It is the dream of every pro cyclist to be World Road Race Champion one day and this course is one of the most likely in many years to spring a surprise winner.
The first edition of the World Road Championships took place in Adenau, in Germany, on 21st July, 1927. Alfredo Binda from Cittiglio won that edition and afterwards he succeeded again in other two editions, in 1930 and in 1932.
In 2007 Paolo Bettini of Italy prevailed in Stuttgart, Germany, after a week of polemics that threatened his participation. The 33 year-old from La California formed part of a five-man group with Fränk Schleck (Luxembourg), Cadel Evans (Australia), Alexandr Kolobnev (Russia) and home rider Stefan Schumacher. It stayed clear following the advantage gained over the Birkenkopf at 9.2 kilometres remaining. Bettini passed Kolobnev as he led out the sprint, while Schumacher kept powering for third over Schleck and Evans. Bettini became the fifth rider to archive the back-to-back Worlds win. His compatriot Gianni Bugno was last rider to double (1991 and 1992) – he achieved his first of two wins in Stuttgart.
All of Italy will be praying for Bettini to complete the hat trick in 2008 which Bettini has said will probably be his last.
After having seen a few races on the course we will now know exactly where the best places to see the race are. As yesterday you are free to wander the course and find a good location.
We will see the jersey presented for 2008 and then head back to our hotel.
In the evening we will have a farewell dinner and pack in readiness for tomorrow’s departure.
Monday 29th September ‘08
Depart
All good things must come to an end and it is time to say arrivederci. Transport will be available to take you to the Milan Malpensa Airport.
