On the roads of Giro d’Italia Stage 15: Seregno – Bergamo

Giro d’Italia has always been my favorite race, going up and down my roads, in the crazy mess Italy is. Every year, for at least one day, I ride up an epic climb waiting for the peloton in the cold of the cloudy mountain days or in the burning sun of the clear sky days. I have always been there with the noise of the elicopters, the excitement of the crowds and the smell of salamelle alla griglia.

I have always been a fan of the Dolomites stages, but this year there will be a stage particularly close to my cycling hearth: the Stage 15 from Seregno to Bergamo, that is going to take place on Sunday 21.
I know, the roads of the stage might not be the most scenic and epic ones Italy can offer, but they are my cycling roads and I love them to the moon and back. This is my virtual tour of that stage and you better take notes (about the random stops along the way, of course).

Seregno – Bergamo: a virtual Tour of the stage and its landmarks

On Sunday there won’t be much time for chit-chatting: just the time to warm up the legs a bit and the road starts almost immediately climbing up. The first climb is one of the most challenging ones of the area: Valcava from Torre de’ Busi. Valcava is a local Institution and if you have been following my rides for long enough, you already know this climb. Valcava won’t hurt the pros, especially because it is at the beginning of the stage, but with its long >18% segments, it won’t pass unnoticed either. It is a rough way to start the day and a nice challenge for us amateurs.

One of the best things of climbing mountains is to breath in the magic at the top. At the top of Valcava there are only some radio antenna and a brown tin storage with an handwritten shaky tag saying “Valcava”. For us, it feels like home.

It is still too early for the weather forecast, but one thing is sure: it will be cloudy at the top, indeed no one ever saw sun up there. To make it up for its moody weather, during weekends there is always a van selling local cheeses and salame and a kiosk with pies and panini (with salamella, of course, that is Italian grilled sausage, by the way).

The descent isn’t tricky, but for the first 4/5 kilometres it is in an extremely poor condition, good news: they are asphalting it right now.
The stage goes then down towards Bedulita, reaching Almenno San Salvatore and Villa d’Almè.

Here we are in the Valcalepio wine area, the pros won’t have time, but you can make a small stop at Ca’ Verde in Almenno, a small and nice Cantina producing biological wines. In Villa d’Almé plan a stop at Tenuta Casa Virginia, that offers fine dining with a view and produces nice wines with intriguing naming and crazy fantasy stories revolving around every bottle.

While you are either buying or tasting some red wine, the peloton will go ahead towards Selvino, the perfect destination for hiking lovers (I would reccomend enjoying the Monte Poieto route).

The climb and descent of Selvino are already well known by the cycling community, as they have been featured in the Giro since the late 60s. The climb has nice hairpins dedicated to local cycling legends such as Gimondi, Baronchelli, Gotti and Savoldelli and it is never too demanding. The descent might be considered a bit technical, but it lasts only 7 kms as the route takes the turn towards the last 5 kilometres of Miragolo San Salvatore, another well known climb already featured in Lombardia and Giro.

After the two close-range climbs up Selvino and Miragolo, it is time to go down towards Zogno, where you can buy the finest local cheeses at Latteria Branzi while enjoying a heart-warming meal, such as Polenta Taragna (polenta with butter and cheese) or Bésse de Brans, a tipical product pretty hard to find elsewhere (it consist in grilled strips of Branzi curd, must write it down!).

After the wine & cheese stops and while riding back along with the pros towords Almenno San Bortolomeo, I would suggest to slow down the pace and enjoy some villages, such as Ubiale Clanezzo. It you are planning to stay in the area for a bit, not too far away you can visit San Giovanni Bianco, San Pellegrino Terme and the lovely Cornello dei Tasso and experience loads of beautriful climbs, but that’s another stage and post material!

Back to the Giro stage, we are now in Almenno San Bartolomeo, here it will be time to face the last climb of the day: Roncola. Roncola is the closer real climb from where I live and over the years I have ridden it so many times I could literally do it with closed eyes. Roncola is not too long as it measures only 7.5 kilometres with an average gradient around 8.5%, it is this an irregular climb where sometimes it takes time to find the right pace. The more demanding segment is at the start and it is around 16-17%, but for a very short part. The real climb ends in Roncola, at the Church you find on your right, but Giro will go up until Roncola Alta doing an additional three kilometres. The last 3 kilometres are really easy but scenic, after that it will be full speed down towards Bergamo, where they will face the well-known one kilometre strappo before the final.

In Bergamo I always suggest a walk in the streets of Bergamo Alta and walk up to San Vigilio, where you can have a Spritz with a view at Baretto di San Vigilio or enjoy a plate of Casoncelli (tipical filled pasta) or the less-known cheese alternative called Scarpinòcc de Par. Bergamo has a lot to offer and the old part, Bergamo Alta, is a true gem.

The stage profile is an interesting one, to me it looks like perfect breakaway material as you hardly find a long completely flat section. There are many climbs but except Valcava at the beginning, they are not too long or difficult. For the brave ones, it could also be the chance to set a trap to the GC contenders, but I doubt we will assist to such actions. If in doubt, drink it out with a nice glass of wine and some fine local cheese!

See you there?