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A run that is neither easy nor short: 120 kilometres from Faenza to the Apennines with, in the middle, the Sambuca climb, 9 kilometres of ascent and 18 of descent, one of the longest in Romagna. It’s a regular rather than massacring route, highlighting the skills of the long distance cyclist. It can’t be said to be within everyone’s reach but it’s an itinerary worth tackling, also planning various pauses, because the voyage of discovery is one to be remembered.
The ascent announces Tuscan Romagna
The first stretch, from Faenza to Riolo Terme via Castel Bolognese, is pure warm-up. From the spa town towards Palazzuolo by way of Casola Valsenio, where medicinal herbs are grown, the distance is 37 kilometres and the breakaways wring your legs.
You are entering Tuscan Romagna, linked to the Mugello by the Apennine ridges.
The Sambuca, not so much hard as long
Passing the built up area of Palazzuolo you take the road on the left to Borgo San Lorenzo and after 2 kilometres you reach Acquadalto. You’re faced with the Sambuca Pass and the climb gets tough. The nine kilometre ascent to get to the pass is interminable even though the gradients are not unspeakable (around 8%). You should immediately seek the right gear and pedalling rhythm and think about conserving energy.
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At 1061 metres of the pass there’s a 3 kilometre vertical dive followed by a further 2 kilometre climb, and then down again to arrive, after 1000 metres, at the Passo della Colla.
Again with clenched brakes to zero a 600 metre difference in altitude and arrive at Marradi, where Dino Campana was born and where they grow special chestnuts used for cooking all sorts of things.
You get there, without too many surprises
The last 40 kilometres are fairly easy going but with a couple of ambushes: the first is the four kilometre Torretto ascent near Sant’Adriano, tough only on the initial and final stretches, and the second is the ascent to Marzeno, around ten kilometres after Modigliana, with 1300 metres at 9%. Marzeno really is the last effort because Faenza is by now in view and the road offers more than anything else the reward of a downhill run.
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