Italy’s best gravel bike routes

Inspiring
Adventure
Italy's best
Gravel Routes

Riding the White Roads

Our selection of the best gravel bike routes in Italy

by Robert Thorpe & 3T Bikes

Coming from a mother who took to the trails on a drop handlebar bike in the 1950s, I should have known that one day, the world would catch up! Italy is also a place close to my heart; after all, my wife believes that she’s Italian, from a century’s old triste that took place with a Roman soldier and her Yorkshire ancestors! Yes, I know. We might all be just a little Italian – how cool is that. Anyway, to important things, and gravel biking.

Strade Bianche, whilst not the oldest bike race in the world, is already a classic. It’s already one of the most exciting bike races in the world, and has been instrumental in leading drop handlebar riders onto the white roads and gravel trails all over the world. And yet, Italy is and will remain the heartland of gravel cycling; this sport , still in its infancy, and which everyone seems to be excited about. Talking with Carlo and the team at 3T Bikes in Italy recently, their passion was as evident as the brands innovation and excellence, in creating the world’s best gravel bikes. It seemed sensible then, as we left Euro Bike 2024, to develop a project alongside 3t Bikes, to bring that Italian excellence and passion to gravel bike riders all around the world.

Over the next few months, we’ll be bringing you a selection of the very best gravel bike routes in Italy. Rides across the rolling Tuscan hills, passing vineyards; gravel bike routes that take in Umbria and the historical places such as Assisi, Arezzo and Siena. Gravel bike adventures to take on the Lakes and Mountains, the Dolomites and to sweep you though the majestic Italian meadows and mountains. Yes, we want to bring you the very best gravel bike routes in Italy – with the best gravel bikes, from 3T!

History, culture & adventure

As we develop our selection of Italy’s best gravel rides, we’ll be focusing in specific areas of this amazing country. In the north of Italy for example, there’s the historic ‘Via degli Dei’ road, that connects Bologna and Florence through the Apennines, and which has been used since Etruscan times. This epic adventure is mostly unpaved – gravel – and starts in the heart of Bologna, climbing steeply to the sanctuary of San Luca, before heading out into the Italian hills. It’s a multi-day gravel biking adventure in Italy, of some 130 km that needs to be taken at a sedate pace; allowing you to take in breath taking Italy.

L’Eroica

All passionate cyclists, on road or gravel bike, know about the  l’Eroica. The  route of l’Eroica is some 209 km, between the Terre di Siena, through the Chianti, the Crete Senesi and the Val d’Orcia. The Tuscan landscapes are a fabled land for the white roads, with the perfect tracks for touring – and we’ll be bringing them to you. It’s a route of some 3/4/5 days, depending on your pace, and how you want to explore. Thankfully, with fixed and permanent signage will keep you on track, as you ride the white roads of Tuscany that are renowned across the cycling and gravel biking world.

A continuing work of excellence – with 3T Bikes

We’re really excited about this new partnership with 3T Bikes from Italy; and we’re super pleased to be able to bring you the very best gravel biking routes in Italy; helping you to plan your own 2-wheeld gravel bike adventure under the Italian sun. Wherever you’re heading in Italy with your gravel bike, as we develop this new section, we’ll be sure to have a great selection of gravel routes for you to ride, along with maps and GPX files to keep you on track.

3T Bikes are an eclectic group of artisans, renowned across the world since 1961 for the innovation and excellence in bicycle design. This small company prides itself on the quality and performance of its products – especially its varied selection of the world’s best gravel bikes. It makes perfect sense then, to partner with them to bring you the world’s best and Italy’s best gravel bike routes; enabling you to join the adventure revolution – on the famed white gravel  roads of Italy, riding a 3T Exploro into the Tuscan sunset!

Italy’s best gravel bike routes

Italy has the very best gravel bike routes in the world. Home to the famed Strade Bianche race and these white roads of the world tour, It's the perfect place for a gravel bike vacation, under the Tuscan sun. Here's our growing selection of the best gravel bike routes in Italy - with our partners at 3T Bikes!

Italian Gravel Bike Coast to Coast Route

3T create some of the best gravel bikes in the world. Add this to being Italian and having some of the best gravel biking trails in the world too, and you've got a great reason to take a bikecation vacation and ride our new Italian Gravel Bike Coast to Coast route, in partnership with 3T Bikes - inspiring adventure since 1961!

Tour des Combins

Take on this classic bike packing tour in the Alps. If you're after a real adventure, then this could be for you. There's some bike hike along the way, but the rewards are epic. Either a hardtail MTB or a Gravel Bike is the ideal way to travel this route at speed.
May 9, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website

The Jeroboam Franciacorta 300km

The Jeroboam Franciacorta 300km is Beauty and the Beast, gravel riding redefined between the shores of lake Iseo and Lake Garda. Spectacular riding and views awaited us, but not without earning them via some hefty climbing.
May 1, 2021/by Pedalnorth Website
Bikepacking in the Alps

Tour du Mont Blanc Cycle Route

This is the Tour du Mont Blanc, so what more needs to be said - it's tough, beautiful and extremely rewarding. Just read the route article below and follow the GPX file, and have an amazing ride!
April 30, 2020/by Pedalnorth Website

Related Content