Willie’s World Cycling

The Catalunya Wine Country tour is a collaboration between Bikecat of Girona and Willie’s World Cycling. Our relationship began in 2016 and this will be our third tour together. Jaume Cabruja, the founder of Bikecat, has told me many times this tour is his favorite. We are super excited to offer this tour and we are certain our guests will be as well!

We will pick you up in Barcelona and we will transfer to Priorat. We will stay at Hostal Sport in Falset. With just 3000 inhabitants, Falset is the capital of Priorat, and the largest town in the area. We will spend 3 nights here and cycle through this spectacular landscape . The Priorat wines are some of the best wines in Spain. We will see and understand how wine is produced in this small region and taste some of these renowned wines.

La Selva del Camp is our next stop for two nights. The luxurious Mas Passamaner is the perfect spot to enjoy and relax. We will have a dinner in Cambrils, a nearby fishing town where some of the best restaurants south of Barcelona are located.

From La Selva del Camp we will ride to our final destination, Sitges and our Hotel Mim, where we will spend our last two nights. Sitges is a lively beach town 30 minutes south of Barcelona. We will ride through the Garraf mountain range to reach the vineyards where Cava and Penedes wines are elaborated. Riding through wide extensions of vineyards and enjoy visiting a cellar along the way.

I can tell you from our previous collaborations with Bikecat, this tour will be memorable in the most fantastic ways. You will be treated with the very best in personal service, enjoy beautiful scenery on our rides, immerse yourself in the Catalan culture, savor the culinary treasures and wonderful wines of the region.

Don’t think twice, sign up! You will be glad you did. We look forward to your company!

Terrain: Rolling, hilly and sometimes steep

Valle d’Aosta is spectacular with Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) as one of the many mountain backdrops framing this beautiful region.

The Piemonte Alps comprise the Cottian and Maritime Alps among others bordering Italy and France . This is a spectacular mountain region that includes climbs that have appeared in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
The roads are quiet, the climbing is epic, the food and wine out of this world!

We will begin the our tour in the Valle d’Aosta and will stay at the Milleluci Hotel for the first 3 nights.
Created from an old family rustic building in stone and wood, the Milleluci Hotel was born in 1961 from the transformation of the family farm. Its name derives from the wonderful night view that can be admired thanks to its particular panoramic position on the hill of the City of Aosta. Relax and comfort with a view of Mount Emilius.

The cycling experience will take us to the summit of the Piccolo San Bernardo mountain, a beautiful and challenging climb to the Italy/France border. We will also ride the surrounding hills of the Valle d’Aosta with spectacular views that will leave you breathless.

After a day on the bicycle and open air, our guests can enjoy a little relaxation in the wellness area with massage, sauna or dedicate themselves to sporting activities in the “salle de gym”.
The summer allows our guests to be seduced by the sun and the pool in the shape of an alpine lake, contemplating the splendid view of the mountains surrounding the Valle d’Aosta.

Day 4 will be a rest and transfer day to our second hotel, Occitan Charme. Here at Occitan Charme, the mountain chalets – whose details have been paid with great attention, passion and love – are very old houses, which have been restored in compliance with the typical materials of the area and refurbished with authentic, antique pieces of furniture. Every object tells a story, every room opens our guests to a magical place where time has stopped.  The next 3 days the tour will take us through the Colle della Lombarda, Colle della Fauniera and the Colle della Maddalena into France.

Terrain: Valleys, steep hills, and steep mountains.

The first 3 days we will be at the Hotel Funivia  in Bormio. The next 4 days we will be at the Hotel Melodia del Bosco in the heart of the Dolomites. You will experience some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world that will certainly leave an indelible memory in your minds, hearts and souls. In addition to fantastic cycling we will enjoy delicious meals and wines of the region at our dinners.

Marco Saligari, Daniele Righi, Beatrice Tonini, Willie Joffroyand Massimo Boglia will be your guides. Their knowledge of the roads and their charm will make your cycling experience a very memorable one.
Our guests will enjoy beautiful accommodations, local cuisine and wine a well as the personalized service that Willie’s World Cycling has become so well known for.

Terrain: Mountains, steep climbing, historic and iconic mountain passes.

We will cycle through the famous wine growing areas of Langhe and Roero as well as the Alta Langhe. This is the land of Barbaresco, Barolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato d’Asti and Arneis wines. Vineyards seem to be everywhere you look. We will taste the wines from this world re-known region and winemakers that we have developed relationships with over the years will join for some of our dinners. Most of the wine producers we collaborate with are from small, family owned and operated wineries that have continued the family tradition of producing fine wines for generations.

Piedmont is known for its delicious cuisine as much as its famous wines. It is the birthplace of Slow Food, an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini. The Slow Food movement focuses on preserving traditional and regional cuisine and promotes farming using plants, seeds, and livestock that is indigenous to or characteristic of the local ecosystem.

Cycling in Piedmont is as good as it gets with its roads winding in and around vineyard covered hills. We will cycle through the small hilltop villages of Monforte d’Alba, Barolo, La Morra Barbaresco and Neive to name a few.

We will be staying in the historic center of the small city of Monforte d’ Alba at Palazzo Boeri. Monforte d’Alba is a small city with a big spirit.

Breakfast will be served daily before our rides, and lunch will usually be on the road. Each evening, we will enjoy the culinary masterpieces and great wines of Piedmont.

Autumn is a wonderful time for the changing colors of the leaves and grape vines, the white truffle and grape harvest. But then again, just about any time is a good time to visit Piedmont!

This tour is best for those of you that enjoy rolling and hilly terrain.

Our tour will be led by an incredible team of expert guides, all residents of Italy. Pier Giorgio Rivella, a resident of Alba and the owner of La Bicicletta d’Alba will take us on the roads that he has cycled on for over 35 years. Marco Saligari  is very familiar with all routes of the tour and he has also competed on these roads against some of the most famous cyclists in the world of his time. Marco completed 12 Giro d’Italia with 3 stage victories, 5 Tour de France and overall victory at the Tour de Suisse among many other World Tour races.

Daniele Righi rode with Lampre for 12 years, completed 5 Giro d’Italia, 5 Tour de France, four Vuelta a Espana and most of the Spring Classics. He owns a pizzeria in Poggibonsi in Tuscany and work as a sports director for UAE Emirates world tour team.

Beatrice Tonini lives in Verona and works full time in the family hotel business. She was also a pro racing for Northern Italian teams and now races as an amateur. Most of all, Beatrice loves meeting new people and sharing her passion for cycling with our guests.

Driving the van will be Massimo Boglia who was a pro for a few years and now has a bike shop with his father Mario. Massimo appears regularly on Bike Channel.

Willie Joffroy will be your host.

You will be immersed in Italian life as cyclists and lovers of food and wine in every way. The people you meet and the places you visit will make you feel as if you are at home with family.
We welcome our guests’ non-cycling partners and ensure that they too experience the joyful immersion into Italian life and culture. We organize activities for the non-cyclists based on their requests while the cyclists are out on the road.

The first 4 days of this tour will take us to the Val d’Orcia where we will cycle through the famous hill towns of  Montalcino, Pienza and San Quirco d’Orcia. We will also climb Monte Amiata a beautiful and challenging mountain. We will  savor the beautiful forests and rolling grasslands of this magical area. The local cuisine will be paired with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino wines. Here you will savor the breezes from the sea and the coolness of the forests in the surrounding mountains.

Our accommodations will be at Fattoria Pieve a Salti. Farmhouse with restaurant, spa, horse riding, outdoor pool, indoor pool, conference center, tennis, biking, natural truffle zone for the famous white truffle of the Crete Senesi.

The Fattoria Pieve a Salti is nestled in the rolling hills of Siena, in a beautiful natural setting, rich in history, art and sacred traditions. Its houses, inside the old village overlooking the surrounding hills, offer you hospitality in comfortable rooms with bathroom or typical apartments of various sizes .

The Estate was originally a summer residence of the Diocese of Arezzo IV century b.c. with the adjoining Pieve Farm and village dating back to the 17th Century; with more than thirty years of passion for this land, the Prandi family has created a paradise where you can enjoy the best of “Vita Toscana”, the great organic food from our farm and excellent wine; distinguished by the silence and relaxation that embrace your stay and touch your heart.
 
On day 4 we will transfer to Villa Ottone on the island of Elba for three nights. The hotel is immersed in a botanical oasis that ensures its tranquility and privacy. A natural environment of absolute prestige at the foot of the Castello del Volterraio, which overlooks the sea and Portoferraio from above. An elegant but at the same time less formal design characterizes the Rooms and Suites of the Hotel, all provided with large balcony or habitable terrace.

We will cycle around the coastal areas of the island as well as inland routes.

The Essentia Hotel Villa Ottone’s wellness center in Portoferraio recalls the ancient rituals of Middle Eastern hammams and the elegance of the Custom Zone Comfort Zone. Soft lines and delicate colors make the Hotel Villa Ottone’s boutique Beauty Center Essentia a haven of well-being. The entrance to the Wellness Center is located in the splendor of the secular park of Villa Ottone Hotel. From Turkish bath to Reiki, from Thai massage to the techniques that draw on the oldest roots of Ayurveda with Shirodara, Abhyangam and Swedana.

For our non-cyclist guests we will be happy to organize guided activities such as, hiking, cooking class, winery visits, cultural tours and shopping.