L’Etape du Tour Parma: climbing requires stamina

Sunday 28 April 2024 is a date I will not soon forget. The day of the first edition of L’etape du Tour Parma. Or L’Etape Parma by Tour de France, as it is officially called. As part of our press trip to Emilia-Romagna, a start certificate for the first edition of the Granfondo is in the bag. Where I had previously thought it would be a hilly ride with here and there a ‘bump’, the reality turns out to be different. The night before departure, I meet my cycling friend Alain, He had already done the route’s reconnaissance in February. His ‘bring your climbing legs’ remark still resonates in my mind. Will it really be that hard? I thought cycling in Parma would be really flat. I couldn’t be more wrong.

Sunday morning early in the morning

When I leave the hotel around eight o’clock, along with Erwin de Clercq and our Slovenian friends Mica and Miroslav, the weather is fine. We have taken advantage of the extensive breakfast buffet. Our Italian guide Nicolas, who is also a respectable triathlete, accompanies us. He is going to do it today. The fact that he can still eat so close to the start is new: ‘as a triathlete, you always have to prepare for hours in advance, otherwise you’ll spill everything during the swim’. I hadn’t thought of that before.

As we enter the central park in Parma, we are quickly surrounded by other groups of cyclists. The route to the start is actually the final kilometer to the finish. The banners and signage make you feel like you’re in the Tour de France atmosphere. Because that’s the idea of this event: for a day, a Tour pro. No French spoken around us. The language is Italian, including the wild barking and gesticulating of Massimo’s and Luigi’s. Few women still in sight, but that seems more the norm than the exception.

Read also: Food Valley Bike Tour in Emilia-Romagna

The kick-off

At 08:45 the starting signal sounds. The ride is completely timed and the timing starts at the start, when you roll over the starting line with your chip. Out of the park, onto the public road and the engine on. That’s the motto. The feeling that you have the road all to yourself is really magical. It also leads to some unusual scenes, because everyone has the craziest ideas in their heads. Clubs of cyclists are pulling me in from left and right. On my speedometer the speed is already approaching 40 per hour. Am I that slow now? I try to control myself, because I haven’t forgotten Alain’s words. I’ll need those climbing legs, because over 140 kilometers we climb a total of 2800 meters! That’s no easy feat.

Rowing to the peaks

When we reach the first hills after about fifteen kilometers, the stress starts to subside a bit. Everyone is finding their own rhythm. It can sometimes be a bit bumpy on the narrower sections, but overall it’s not that crazy. I’m also trying to get into a rhythm and have the climb on the Wahoo displayed clearly. Today I’m going to do the 140km, but if it doesn’t go well I can still turn back after about three kilometers for the ‘mediofondo’. Then I’ll skip the long climb to Silara. I’m still hesitating a bit.

The first climbs go quite well. I get a decent rhythm and although I am being overtaken, I manage to overtake some people myself. The balance is therefore good and meanwhile I can still enjoy the surroundings a little. It is indeed hilly here, almost mid-mountain. Beautiful views over the valleys and here and there a sleeping village. The road and the pavement are still good here. That is not always the case in Italy. An added benefit: the road is still open to us cyclists! There are agents and signalers everywhere. There is also a lot of public, from families to other cyclists who encourage us. Great!

Grande Claudio

While I am just processing the first climb, an older Italian comes past me from the inside. I pause for a moment and then quickly look behind him to see the number on his back. The name I read is too familiar. Is it really him? Claudio Chiappucci, the little devil I saw so often on TV in the 90s? I quickly switch gears and drive alongside. Yes, it is him! Photo, video, I quickly tell him that I think he is a great champion and that my mother sends her regards. He laughs pleasantly, greets the whole of Holland and then pedals off. Looking around, other Italians are also surprised: Grande Claudio? Here? Of course. And the Dutchman recognized him.

Enjoy driving for a long time

Soon we reach the intersection of the short and long round. I feel good. I keep going. 140 kilometers won’t be a problem for me. Although the breakfast of the morning still has a bit of an effect on me, I keep peddling happily up. There was no lie in that: these are not long climbs, but they are quite steep: 10-15% I see coming past quite often on the scale.

As I start the long climb towards Monte Caio, I see small patches of white along the road. It’s not cold, more like a fresh spring day (the sun makes up for a lot). But now, when I see what I see? Yes, it’s snow! We climb to 1200 meters altitude and we’ll encounter even more snow there. It’s a bit of a switch, but it’s really cool to see.

On the long climb, I am also overtaken by a trailing car. As far as I can read, this is also the ‘bezemwagen’. That seems strange to me. I am definitely not the last one and we had the course all to ourselves, right? I’ll put that thought aside for a moment and climb to the top. There I pause for a while, take a toilet break, eat and drink (which is well-provided for) and prepare myself for the descent.

Now it's a matter of being careful

Freshly out of my stop, I plunge into the descent. This is the delightful long descent, which is almost 16 kilometers long. Here, though, you have to be very careful with the beautiful curves, the steep slopes, and the sleepy villages again. Although sleepy. Suddenly I see a car coming from the opposite direction towards the course. I look a bit angry but also surprised: we really had the road all to ourselves? Two seconds later I remember again: oh yeah, that car….

What turns out later: the route was kept open for only one hour after the first rider. That means that only part of the route is car-free. From my perspective, totally irresponsible. If you just happen to be peeing or grabbing a drink and don’t see that car passing by, you really put yourself in a dangerous position. Yes, in the sense that: if you think you can ‘freely’ get down a slope, you shouldn’t expect to see an 75-year-old man driving slowly towards the church.

More climbing

If you think you’re done with the elevation meters after 70 kilometers, then you’re not well informed. Because the meter only starts at 2000 meters of elevation. So there are still 800(!) to go. You have a long climb ahead of you, the Pineta di Cozzano (category 1 according to the indexing, mainly because of the steep climb of 15-16%) and the Langhirano. To add to my qui vive, I’ll tackle these climbs. The sun is starting to come through nicely, so the sleeves can be taken off again.

I find that I keep running into the same group of people all the time. As already mentioned at the beginning: the language here is Italian. Every now and then I notice a Dutch name, but generally it’s Italians and a lost German. The event still needs an international push, but that will surely come.

Once I have conquered the final climb, I confidently enter the descent, but with a little more caution. However, I end up falling badly. One of the turns is relatively narrow. I am distracted by a bump in my field of vision. As I turn further, there is a ditch in the middle of the road that I had not noticed. I try to steer a little to the outside, but I can’t keep the bend. In the grass, I manage to save some furniture, but a pothole and the guardrail are my downfall. I end up on the other side of the guardrail, with beautiful views of the valley, but my bike is no longer with me. It is still on the side of the road.

Go home quietly

I’ll sit down for a moment to collect myself. I call on some of the other participants to ‘piano piano’ here. That obstacle was there for a reason after all. Just not in the same place where I encountered the guardrail. A scratch on my arm and especially the shock in my body make me take my time to get back on the bike later. Quietly going down is the motto now. After a few minutes I feel some comfort again on my bike. But the brakes are a bit heavier than before. Fear is not easy to remove.

On the final climb, I take the stress off my mind and in the short descent I find myself joining a group of older men. We keep riding around in a nice rhythm as we head towards Parma. It helps me to burn off the energy I still have. It’s a stupid move, really. Once we’re in Parma and on the final kilometer, I challenge one of the men to a little sprint. He had put in a lot of effort and I actually want to give him that feeling of beating me. Not that I necessarily wanted to win, but letting him win was a nice way to end the day for me.

Pasta, bread, people

The pasta party is well organized. With a wristband you get access, and the bike parking area is guarded by a well-trained security guard. When I crash down, I still run into the organizers. I briefly let them know that I didn’t like the sudden appearance of cars on the course, without any clear announcement. The shoulders are raised. Apparently nothing serious happened. Who’s alive…

Tired, reasonably satisfied, but still with some reservations, I head back towards the hotel. On the way I run into my Slovenian friends. One of them had missed the signs for the exit and instead of the shorter distance, drove the longest distance. A refreshing glass of beer helps him get back on track.

After-dinner drink

The dinner in the evening at the Grand Hotel Parma It tastes better than ever. I do miss the multiple courses of pasta, but the level is excellent. With Erwin, Mica and Miroslav, it’s good to chat. As it turns out: the latter had to face Erik Dekker in Barcelona in 1992 and, according to his own words, he was better than Dekker throughout the entire season and eventually Olympic champion Fabio Casartelli (who fell fatally in the descent of the Portet d’Aspet in the 1995 Tour). What I didn’t know: Slovenia had a short war, only 10 days, so he had to stay in Slovenia. This experience was so demotivating for him that a year later he put his bike aside as an amateur. How things can change your life. We toast to an intense experience together. Parma, Ci Vediamo.

Route L’etape du Tour Parma

Below you can find the route of the Granfondo – 140 kilometers and a serious number of elevation meters.