From September 18th to 24th, 2025
Hi, I am Johan van der Heijden and I would love to take you to a cycling trip to Romagna, Italy from 18 to 24 September 2025. I have been cycling in this area for more than ten years now and have already introduced several people to this area. It is a great place to cycle, but I also want to take you into the Italian (cycling) life. The area has a rich cycling history with no fewer than three Giro winners, of which Marco Pantani is the most famous. THe others are Ercole Baldini and Arnaldo Pambianco.
Every day we will make a beautiful ride with the necessary sights. I can tell you a lot about the area also in relation with cycling. We will also make the necessary altitude meters. The climbs may not be well-known, but they are sufficiently challenging because of the gradients. We will also have a nice coffee stop and often the local cycling history will be present there.
Currently I have the following rides in mind, but they can still be adjusted as needed. On day 1 we already enter the Apennines. We drive through the beautiful Bertinoro and take a training climb from Marco Pantani at Borello. Then we enjoy the view at the castle of Sorrivoli and drive back to the agriturismo via Cesena. The second day is a ride in which Marco Pantani is central. Via beautiful gravel paths we reach the salt pans of Cervia and ride along the Adriatic coast to Cesenatico. Here we visit the grave and the museum of Pantani. We have lunch along the canal in the center of the village that was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. On the way back we ride past the house of Pantani.
The third day is all about climbing. After a flat start and riding along beautiful villages like Terra del Sole and Castrocare Terme we take a nice climb to Predappio and Rocca delle Caminate. Here is the summer house of Benito Mussolini that played a crucial role in ending the Second World War in Italy. After this ride we move to the second location in Riolo Terme
On the fourth day, the course of the 2020 World Cycling Championships is central. This 27-kilometre circuit was completed 10 times by the pros. We do it once and make a trip to the beautiful town of Dozza. We also pass the moment for Aryton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. The last day is all about enjoying the surroundings. We ride through the hills to Faenza, known for its ceramics. Then we have a tough climb of the Pietramora, after which we descend to the beautiful Brisighella. From here we follow part of the Tour de France stage, Cesenatico – Bologna, which was ridden last year.
In addition to cycling, Italian life is central, so we will dine at local restaurants and sleep in an agriturismo. The goal of this cycling trip is pleasure where performance is secondary. Of course, everyone is free to race up the slopes, but after that it is a social ride again. The routes are 60 to 85 kilometers long and have a maximum elevation of 1300 meters. That may not seem like much, but I have heard from several people that the routes are tough enough. There are sections of gravel in the routes, but they are easy to do on a racing bike.
The costs for this trip are only 450 euros. For this you have six overnight stays with breakfast. Lunches and dinners are at your own expense. As well as transportation to and from Italy. If you are interested, please let me know. The trip will continue with six participants and a maximum of 10 people can join (due to the accommodation).Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. You van reach me by mail; jgm.vander.heijden@gmail.com of phone 06-81168899