Shimano Gravel Alliance rider Claudia Gerosa talks us through the self-supported Veneto Gravel, where she found joy in the picture-book scenery, sublime cycleways and little-used gravel tracks.
VENETO GRAVEL does not claim to be a bike race - it has no allusions when it comes to that. Instead, it’s an adventure that takes you through an incredible nature, new sights, rural Northern Italy, rolling hills, and the postcard-perfect cities and towns of Veneto.
It is, however, self-supported. You can pick between 700 km for the full route, or one of two condensed versions – Short Lake or Short Beach, which are both 400 km. Once you’ve picked the route, you’ll follow the official GPS track and from there on; it’s you, your bike and the conditions, managing the logistics of when and what to eat and where (or even if) to sleep. Not being a race, you’ve got to collect stamps at the checkpoints and there’s no big clock timing you as you cross the finish line—hell, there’s not even a result’s list. Instead, you’ll sign your name on the finisher’s board.
What makes Veneto Gravel such a winning formula isn’t just exceptionally rideable route, it’s the way that route opens up a hidden side of Italy, full of little-known tracks and long-forgotten corners that are lying in wait for cyclists to discover them. The landscape hops between picture-book villages, spots that wouldn’t be out of a place in an antique museum, idyllic villages, and cities that you’ll ride right through the middle of that literally radiate history. (Another bonus of these sections is that you’ll always find water, food, and somewhere comfy to sleep if that’s your style).
While Veneto Gravel explicitly claims not to be a race, a certain cohort of riders will go hard and embrace the challenge against the clock (their own, in this case) and against themselves. There will have been riders, I’m sure, that only slept for a few stolen hours or minutes on edge of the dirt roads or in a nice-looking grassy spot. But for everyone else, it’s about indulgement in your passion and savouring the distance. For those who aren’t used to riding uninterrupted, you can split your route into four days and take up the entire allocated time. We set ourselves a two-and-a-half day limit, setting off on Friday afternoon and splitting the 400 km Short Beach into three stages with pre-selected hotels each night.
Day 1 Bassano del Grappa – Quarto d’Altino (105 km)
Day 2 Quarto d’Altino – Vittorio Veneto (156 km)
Day 3 Vittorio Veneto – Bassano del Grappa (139 Km)