Cycling in Emilia-Romagna: Following Pantani's trail

Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica. A trio synonymous with beach holidays. Sun, sea, drinking. At least, that’s how I remembered it. Not without reason did I go on a two-week summer holiday to this Bermuda triangle for young people in my 18th year. I had heard of Cesenatico before. What a place; the village with that name stood out strongly in my mind. It was the mecca for a cycling pilgrimage. Here you could see ‘him’. God himself, or actually Il Pirata. Marco Pantani. God was ‘VDB’. Apart from the fact that both a pirate and a god came to an end in a very sad way. VDB somewhere in Senegal. Pantani in a hotel room in Rimini.

By Sander Kolsloot

The coast

Cesenatico, then. A seaside resort, just north of Rimini. This is where he was born. Marco Pantani. In this region he was discovered. When you talk to Italian cycling fans, the name Pantani always brings ‘something’ with it. There is an adoration for the rider. When I was with an Italian journalist at the UCI center in Aigle last year, the name Pantani always brought ‘something’ with it. The man was almost legendary. Even more impressive: he told me that the best-selling issue of BiciSport, a leading Italian cycling magazine, was the edition of Pantani and the Tour victory. A whopping 150,000 copies were exchanged from one owner to the next in kiosks and bookstores. Unheard of.

Read also: From Cesenatico to San Marino: through the heart of Emilia-Romagna during the EMCC

We are going to look for beautiful places in this region. Looking for the traces and the feeling of Il Pirata.

E-mi-li-ja-ro-man-ja

The province Emilia-Romagna It still speaks to the imagination. Even just because of the name. Emilia-Romagna. Few provinces have a more beautiful name. Autumn Piedmont, But in this case, the Italian variant. The Dutch variants like Zuid-Tirol for Alto-Adige only hurt my ears. The province consists of the parts Emilia, Romagna and Modena/Bologna. Funny thing is that it is a relatively large province that includes both stretches along the coast and also runs further inland, all the way past the cities of Modena and Parma. You can find both flat and hilly routes there. You can drive along the beaches, through the hills but also a longer (training) climb as well as a Sestola in the west or Pian Cavallaro, near Bologna.

Hills

One of the most beautiful events in the region is the ‘Nove Colli’ (Negen Heuvels), with the start and finish in Cesenatico. But the region is more than just Cesenatico. This was obviously visible during the 2020 World Championships in Imola. The images of Anna van der Breggen, Filippo Ganna and Julian Alaphilippe riding over ‘that little road’ are etched in the collective memory.

Deeper into the interior, towards San Marino You’ll find a number of beautiful hills. Many of these collettes are also included in the cyclo mentioned earlier. If you continue towards the west of Emilia Romagna, you’ll encounter the steeper and longer climbs.

Monte Pirata

On the edge of Emilia Romagna and Le Marche The climb is the real thing. Monte Carpegna is the Pirates‘ mountain. It was Marco’s favorite mountain. He would always insist that he had ’had enough of the Carpegna”. If you start this climb, you have to put in the right effort. Close your eyes and dance on the pedals, just like the little pirate. Because with an average of 10% and the last 2 kilometers (the Cippo) at 12%, it’s no walk in the park. You can understand that Marco had enough of this in his time. After his death, this mountain has become a true pilgrimage site. Not only because of Marco’s love, but also because of the statue that was erected in honor of il Elefantino, as he was also called. By the way, is it a coincidence that a short hill nearby has the name San Marco Does it wear?

From Nove Colli: Barbotto and Gorolo

The Barbotto is actually the classic Nove Colli climb. The hardest climb of the nine climbs series. In 5.5 kilometers, with an average of 6.9%, you climb over 370 meters into the air. That sounds pretty tough, but when you consider that there’s a section of 18% (!) in it, you have to be in good shape to start this climb. It does produce some nice pictures and the fact that you can order a ‘piccolo caffè’ at Bar Barbotto… Happy days!

The Gorolo is also a really tough unit. The final climb in the long course is only 4 kilometers long, but in that time it averages 6% meters up and a peak of 17%. After more than 175 kilometers, this is really pushing the limits.

Trip to San Marino

If you are on pilgrimage in this region, then a trip to San Marino is a must. I myself have a preference for this kind of craziness. Vatican City, Liechtenstein, Andorra. I love coming there, and so I have also been to San Marino myself. Just for fun. To get to San Marino, you really have to climb up a hill. That makes the journey there, for example from Cesenatico, very enjoyable. Putting up a sign, grabbing some coffee and going back

The interior

Because Emilia Romagna is so large, you really have a lot of options. However, you also have to deal with the Po Valley, which makes the challenge a lot less interesting. The most enjoyable challenges are along the south-west border of the province. There lies a beautiful mountain range, the Apennines, which has many beautiful climbs, including the Corno Alla Scale where Gilberto Simoni came first in the Giro in 2004. A long climb that gets very steep especially towards the end.

There you’ll also find the Passo delle Radici. It’s not very steep, but it does stretch for 30 kilometers with a total elevation difference of 1300 meters. The section on the west side is the part that really tests you in that respect. The name is also cool, because it actually means the (tree) root pass. Fortunately, the road isn’t full of roots. That’s a relief. The road itself is absolutely a sight to behold.

Other interesting climbs include the Trebbio, where the Giro has already finished a few times, most recently in 2015. That is a steep climb of 5 kilometers, with some steep sections towards 15-16%.

Stay

In this region you have a huge selection of bike hotels and accommodations. Especially in the Rimini region you won't be short of options. A handy site is Italy Bike Hotels, which has collected a lot of good cycling resources, including some tips and routes.

Route along the Piraat trail

This beautiful route starts in Cesenatico and goes all the way to the favorite climb: Monte Carpegna. Then, in a tribute to this training area, it returns to the starting point in Cesenatico, the birthplace of Pantani. Along the way, you’ll encounter many references to the small Italian cycling legend.

For more inspiration? In collaboration with Johan van der Heijden, we have also written down a great route in Emilia Romagna: Beautiful cycling route in Emilia-Romagna.

The Vie del Bike routes also pass through this province, as the project connects all the provinces of Italy. Check out the routes of neighboring regions here. Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche