I’ve done it five times, it’s ace.
Didnt do it last year nor doing it this year but back there next..
It can be hard,I’d say pick a group close to your ave speed and hang in there, if its wet it’ll be like a Cross event, but the road sections are just like single lane stuff here (Sth Downs) and are just as pot holy too.. Then there are the chalk roads which are hardpack and rutted. Climbs are like a lumper Sth Downs and they don’t go up as much they go on for a long time. The scenery is just amazing, you’ll spend most of your time looking around you, which if you are hacking along may not be the best thing to do. As ever the food and hospitality is typically Italian, attack the leader of the bunch and expect to be shot out the back until you’ve gained some respect.
I rode with an ex neo pro whose back here now looking for another team, he towed me around and showed me the rights and wrongs of rising with Italians.
It’s quite bonkers, there are all sorts of folks riding it these days, pre the sportive as is now it was just a hard core race, now there are bunches of shoppers and mtbers and sportive types. The good guys are let off the front, that’s the group we were in and thankfully so, as you just hack on and create some space, I’d not like to ride with the rabble, it’s very busy and such a mix of abilities you’d end up fighting your way through. Think of it like a Wiggle event over the Sth/North Downs on chalk roads and the smell of lemons and olives and rosemary and some spectacular churches and spruce lined lanes and you pretty much have it.
As far as a bucket list event it’s one of the best IMO.
If we’re still around next year perhaps Olgit and some others would like to make a trip together… Be fun that.