L’Eroica: An Italian Timeless Experience

Dear friends of The Fleece Milano,

Welcome back!

We’ve just given you the time to hop off the two wheels of the Aprilia MotoGP to embark on other ride on two wheels, this time less fast but definitely more old-fashioned.

We are talking about L’Eroica, a one-of-a-kind cycling event that since 1997, the year of its creation, has been warming the hearts of many cycling enthusiasts, nostalgic for the period in which cyclists were considered as heroes, since you always knew when they were starting a race, but you were never sure of how and when they would get to the end of it.

The beauty of fatigue and the thrill of conquest”, this is how its founders refers to L’Eroica when they try to describe the spirit of this charming cycling event. The race was born in 1997 in Gaiole in Chianti, a small village among the white and dusty roads of the province of Siena, by Giancarlo Brocci, together with other 92 fellow-cyclists, who decided to ride vintage bikes on gravel roads to immerse themselves into the heroic cycling experiences of Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.

What came out of that was (of course) more than just a cycling race. Today L’Eroica is synonym with an adventure where the cyclists and their efforts take the center of the stage - cleaned of all modern technologies aimed at the exasperated search for performance - and therefore able to appreciate the timeless beauty of the journey and of the surrounding landscapes.

L’Eroica allows participants to ride exclusively on historical bikes, road-racing bikes built in 1987 or earlier. Clothing - which is where it becomes even more interesting for us - must be of classic inspiration, such as wool jerseys and bib shorts. If you want to give it an even more classic and elegant twist, as some of the participants like to do, grab one our sartorial polos (link) and sleeveless cardigans (link); they look perfect when paired with those classic leather shoes with toe clips or straps, especially if you’re considering to participate to the concours d’elegance in the combined elegance category, awarded to the most stylish couple (male and female) in terms of bicycle and clothing of the candidates.

The next race is set to take place on the 1 October 2022 although from the original event in Gaiole, L’Eroica has grown into a global movement, providing today for a network of multiple events organized all around the world: Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States, to name a few. Another proof of the appreciation and success of the “made in Italy” worldwide.

Whether or not you are a passionate cyclist, L’Eroica is an experience that any of us should do at least once in their life. There are routes for every age and ability but whatever route you pick we guarantee that it is going to be a ride you will remember for life. 

You are not up for the fatigue and are unsure what to wear for a Sunday bicycle ride? Needless to say, you just can't go wrong with our Short Sleeve Polo Shirts

 l'eroica

 Ph: cyclistmagazine.it

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