Pantani’s Land | Granfondo Via del Sale

Italy’s Granfondo Via del Sale blends the tantalising flavours of Emilia Romagna with the gruelling training grounds of the late champion Marco Pantani. Cyclist digs into a plateful of this wildly challenging sportive. Buon appetito.

A striking blue Lamborghini, resplendent with flashing police lights, creeps backward toward the first line of riders. The music, some kind of bastardised Queen meets Euro trash house – usually reserved for only the biggest of music festivals – blares from the six-foot-tall speakers. Dawn noise restrictions around Emilia Romagna’s east coast town of Cervia don’t apply today. This is the Granfondo Via del Sale, and everything stops for this race – yes I just labelled it so.