2024 marks a milestone year for Italy: the Grande Partenza. The Tour begins 100 years after the first Italian tour win in the mecca of cycling. Although the Emilia-Romagna region is the main contributor to the start prize money, the circus begins in Florence. Indeed, that is in Tuscany. The third stage, after a start in Piacenza, also finishes in Turin. That is in Piedmont, just outside Emilia-Romagna. But anyway, it's possible to do it in Emilia-Romagna. With a big tribute to Pantani, during a finish and start in Cesenatico and Rimini. While every village and town is screaming for attention, Parma is also putting its money where its mouth is. With a first edition of the stage Parma by Tour de France, it well-known concept of the A.S.O.. It does make the city a bit yellow though. First we did the Food Valley Bike Tour. It was a real treat for the eyes!
Text and photos: Sander Kolsloot
Solo una
A man with a round face and an almost carnival-like suit comes to our table. With a small grin, he starts naming some pasta dishes. ‘Traditional, with pumpkin, with ragu?’ We want that. Our group leader Andrea cuts the cake: ‘Anything we want, so we can share.’ The cheerful waiter disappears back to the back. A while later, he proudly shows the first half-finished dish. The pasta is made by hand here, and that’s something to write home about. Soon after the first plates come out of the kitchen, little is left of the ‘sharing principle’. There is so much that there is enough for everyone. The plates keep coming, and I keep eating. ‘Solo Una’ is the credo. After four plates of pasta, all four of which are super delicious, the waiter reappears: another main course? No thanks, ‘dolce per tutti’. And that’s something to lick your fingers at. La Filoma in Parma tops the list by a wide margin.
Food, drink and cycling go hand in hand
That Italy and especially Emilia-Romagna are known for their excellent cuisine is almost a given. As a matter of fact, one of the best restaurants in the world is located in Modena; Parma itself is proud to be the birthplace of delicious ham and cheese, and the local wines are praised everywhere. Before the competition day, we first travel to the region by train. The goal: to ride the Food Valley bike tour.
From Piacenza, where we were first welcomed by Mayor Katia Tarasconi, who, for the occasion, was dressed in a bright yellow outfit. Piacenza wants to make a name for itself with the arrival of the Tour, and a lot of money is being invested in that. Is it justified? We’ll see. Everyone is positive and the hotels are full around the Tour weekend. Winner winner, pasta dinner! We’ll start with the Italian coffee with ‘brioche’ but would like to try it again, to set course towards Busseto.
Beautiful industrial areas and boring roads
Come on, the praise for Italy can’t go on. To get from Piacenza to the start of the Food Valley, we have to go through a seemingly impenetrable piece of land. The industrial area of Piacenza is a mess; the next roads are pretty straight ahead. Another disadvantage: the win is a tough one and it’s just ‘bad luck’. Fortunately, a highlight awaits soon. We’re heading to ‘Verdi land’ in Busseto. This is the birthplace of the famous Italian composer and you can still find many references to him. The large statue in the central square is not to be missed. Busseto is also the point where we pick up the Food Valley Bike tour.
National route
The Food Valley Bike Tour is intended as a nod to the region. It is a nice way to discover the less well-known places in the region. The route follows the railway line fairly closely, so you can almost always shorten the route if you are tired, or you can do a variation. We are riding it in the opposite direction, so from Busseto to Parma. The Po River forms the guide. The river is also the boundary between Emilia-Romagna and neighboring Lombardy. We follow the route and everywhere you see the effort that has gone into it: signs along the road, directions painted on the road. Great. We swing through the countryside and the wind is less favorable this time as well. We are riding at an angle, so we try to ride a nice range of routes.
Wedding crashers
When we arrive at Antica Grancia Benedettina after a winding route, after about 40 kilometers, we fall flat on our faces. Literally and figuratively. We arrive at a Sicilian wedding, where the bride has just arrived. Meanwhile, we disappear into a dining room somewhere else and there the warm plates of pasta with butter sauce are quickly served. My God, I thought I had already eaten well, but here too I find myself eating more and more: solo una. Nonna keeps bringing out new things, and I just can’t get enough. The dessert is just as delicious and with another small Dutch greeting in the guestbook, we pull ourselves together. On to Parma
Parma, see you
We have to process the lunch and how could that be better than covering 20 kilometers? The final destination is the Parco Ducale in the heart of Parma, where we can pick up our starting numbers and where the cyclosportive is also going to start. The many banners and the village with the exhibitors show that something is going to happen. That way you can get into the atmosphere for a nice ride. We are going back to our hotel, the Grand Hotel in Parma, This former psychiatric hospital is the perfect base for exploring the city and for riding this l’etape Parma.
The route: Food Valley Bike Tour
The route from this story
- Italy: Food Valley Bike Tour from Piacenza to Parma100.5 km · 98 hmGPX ↓
Questions & tips
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