Italy Divide 2024: Pompeii -> Torbole, Lake Garda.
- Bike: Canyon Grail CF7 (SRAM eTap) V1
- Route length: 1275km
- Route elevation gain: 24,000m
- Time taken: 5 days, 21 hours (41 hours idle with 13 hours sleeping)
- Result: 23/24th (out of 125 starts)
- Dates: Start – 25th April 2024, End 1st May, 2024
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cNuktjta9g
- Website (I'll add a post here soon): https://www.squeezethefruit.com
- Instagram (i added stories and posts about this): https://www.instagram.com/squeezethefruit?igsh=NHBmdG5jNGo2aTRh&utm_source=qr
Hi everybody, a mate and I recently did the Italy Divide, a bikepacking 'race' from Pompeii to Torbole, Lake Garda. It is marketed as an off-road route suitable for gravel and hardtail MTB, but there is a good mix of 4X4 tracks, singletrack, hike-a-bike and road. It's 1275km in total, with around 24,000m elevation gain. I took along my Canyon Grail CF V1 for the ride, and it performed fantastically.
Setup
I had 38mm GravelKings. Next time, I'd probably max out to the 43mm, but it was still comfortable and made the road sections nice and smooth.
In terms of bags, I had:
- Canyon Midloader (1.9L)
- Candyon Handlebar bag (2L) – I love this on the hoverbar
- Apidura Expedition Saddle (9L)
This was enough to carry all my emergency repairs, a light change of clothes for sleeping in and my sleep system (mat, bivvy, quilt and pillow).
The hoverbar is great for keeping the cockpit clean – it had the bag on it, and on either side I had two exposure lights for riding in the dark.
Route
It was a fantastic route, starting up and over Mount Vesuvius before taking you through some of the most iconic regions/sights in Italy. Regions covered: Campania, Lazio, Abruzzo, Umbria, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige.
We passed through the centre of Rome, Sienna, Florence, Bologna and Verona, as well as over some mountainous terrain – getting to over or around 1800m on two occasions. The Canyon handled it all incredibly with no issues on the bike, except for having to change brake pads. I also had a bit of range anxiety on my derailleur as had to change out the battery at the halfway point and stupidly forgot my charger, but
The standout region was Tuscany, for it being amazing but also hard. Tuscany is well known for being full of hills, but I was not ready for the steepness of these on both the ups and downs, resulting in no let up on the body.
Weather
There was snow on some of the passes, and temperatures dropped to 0ºC on a few occasions with a lot of rain over the first two days. Ultimately as we moved further north, the weather and temperatures improved until my Scottish skin was baking under the Italian sun! 🥵 Although the last pass before the descent into Torbole also did have some snow on it, and we made it just before a storm hit.
Overall
We loved the route, and would recommend it. We made a video of the trip so that you can visualise it, and the YouTube link is attached! Happy to answer any questions on kit, setup or route for fellow Canyon lovers. 😀
by lau04258