Granfondo Dieci Colli Bolognesi 163km 2700m
I've been keeping quiet about this one as earlier on in the year I wasn't sure if I would make it out to participate. Thankfully things went to plan and I have done my first Granfondo, the Dieci Colli Bolognesi (10 Hills of Bologna)
I am staying out here and cycling with Phill (my brother and co-contributor to herneweb) who lives in the Trentino region near Lake Garda. It's a few hours away from the race so we travelled down to Bologna on Monday night and checked into the hotel. Then it was out to meet up with Michele, a local cyclist and friend of Phill's, for a bite to eat and quick reccie of the hills we would be riding. The hills are quite deceptive in this region, they look fairly tame from a distance but closer up the bumps and dips hide some significant height gains.
We turned in early to get ready for the early start in the morning. However thanks to some joker who called the fire brigade about smoke coming out of a window we had a pretty disruptive night of phone calls and knocks on the door. Needless to say I wasn't feeling too bright when the alarm went off at 0545.
As the hotel breakfast didn't start for another hour or two and they were unlikely to cater for our requests for pasta and cheese we went over to Michele's for an excellent pre-ride meal and to make final preparations. With stomachs at the same pressure as our tyres we set off for the race start in the town centre.
A couple of thousand people lined up to take part; you are assigned to a particular start place depending on how early you register and on your previous placings. We were one back from the first group containing among others, ex-Tour podium finisher, Raimondas Rumsas. There was an overwhelming smell of the complementary pre-race embrocation cream that came with the race packs. Incidentally the race packs were very good with free coffee, tea, chocolate, bottles, degreaser and lube.
The massive numbers of racers and the narrow start gate meant that everyone was immediately trying to make up places to get in a good group to reach the first climb with some space to move. There was no chance to take the start easy, I found myself sprinting over the start line out onto the streets of the city along with everyone else, hopping on and off each others wheels in a effort to make some ground and find a faster group to sit in to get to the first climb.
The first hill took some time arriving, I was hoping some of the undulations might count but the '10' are clearly marked so unmarked inclines are just a reminder that there's more to it than the name of the race suggests. Once on the hills I started pretty gently and climbed well within my limits, spinning up with small groups of riders. Hills 1, 2 passed fairly quickly but by 3 the sun was fairly high and the temperature was on it's way up to 30 degrees; I was in no state to be competitive. I had be advised to make sure I got into a group for the longer stretches between the hills but more often than not I was on my own in the valleys. I put this down to my poor descending. On the hills I was constantly riding up past the same riders only to be overtaken by them on the descents. My descending slowed even more due to caution when I had a completely inexplicable tube blow out on top of 5, the tyre just popped off the rim and the tube blew out with load bang (lucky I wasn't going downhill at the time). After a roadside repair it was back out onto the road for the big climbs of 6,7,8 and 9. 7 was quite exposed and the long lone run through the valley to 8 was never ending. 9 was the worst climb. After 94 miles it was a 375m climb well above 12% consistently. The climb was a long sweeping right hand bend which meant you could see exactly where you were going and the long line of riders crawling up the 16% ahead. The short steep climb up 10 was made bearable in the knowledge that it was only the descent into the finish remaining with a welcome plate of pasta and cheese.
So I have completed my first Granfondo and my first ever race (although I can hardly say I was was racing). A great experience and something I have learned loads from for next time...
Comments:
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uncadan8Now you've done one, subsequent Granfondos will be a breeze, I'm sure you'll be up there with Raimondas Rumsas next time ;)
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phillDan, with regards to tips, I'll write some more in a post but first thoughts include.
1. Rest before the race. As Phill has pointed out, I did a bit of driving before the race and it completely wiped me out for the week. I will not make this mistake again.
2. Don't pressure yourself too much. It's your first race, nobody is expeting you to beat Raimondas Rumsas.
3. Get in a group. It makes everything easier, unless of course you have broken off the front and are powering to victory ;-)
I'm not best placed to deal out advice as I've only ridden one GF, so my last tip would be to hook up with some friendly seasoned racers who can give you tips and help from experience.
By
iainBy
uncadan8