Tracing the Torino-Nice Rally
A Monument. If a pantheon of off-road routes that can compete with the five famous ‘monuments’ of modern cycling still doesn’t exist, for sure the Torino-Nice Rally could claim the title. And that’s exactly what scares us. But instead of worrying that we won’t make it, Sophie and I are all but certain we’re worthy of the monolith that stands before us. This keeps our minds busy as we tackle the approach along the winding roads of the Valle di Lanzo.
We leave Turin unharmed. A coffee – ameretto, a few warm-up challenges to settle us into the ride and it’s here, in the valley, that the ‘Turin-Nice’ takes hold. Without warning, just as a huge storm drenches us with the simplicity of a hello, the route heads left, and our GPS shows 18% after only a few dozen metres.
The Colle del Colombardo is not especially famous, for one good reason: it very quickly runs out of asphalt. However, it’s our doorway to a one-week adventure that will take guts. We spend an epic afternoon alternating between a slow pace and ‘hike-a-bike’ underneath a rumbling not-too-distant storm. The tone is set.
We don’t go for the challenge as an end goal in itself: we enjoy the effort and we understand wholeheartedly that big moments have to be earned. However, we rarely climb for the simple pleasure of the act. The first reward we earn is a simple one: a little cairn about 50cm high along the ridgeway which veers to the right after Colombardo, and which takes us up to 2,100m. No signs, no souvenirs, just nature in its rawest form, that we alone are here to appreciate.