Tuscany road ride: 476 km across the heart of Tuscany
A demanding road ride of 476 km with 4,110 metres of climbing, planned by Matthias and Freek. Komoot rates it hard and says it needs very good fitness. Most riders would take 4 to 7 days. The highest point is 540 m, so the effort comes from the many short, steep climbs rather than from big mountain passes. Komoot lists 14 main climbs, mostly between 1.3 and 4.7 km long.
The route. It runs from the Florence area to the Tyrrhenian coast near Pisa and Livorno. It then turns inland, passes Volterra, and reaches San Gimignano at km 252. From there it continues to Siena’s Piazza del Campo at km 300,
which is also a fixed stop on the Tuscan Trail. The last stretch goes east towards Arezzo and the Arno valley, with a viewpoint at Baroncelli at km 468 shortly before the finish at km 476.
Surfaces and road types. The route is almost entirely paved:
- Asphalt: 428 km
- Other paved surfaces: 24 km
- Unpaved: 13 km
- Compacted gravel: 6 km
- Cobblestones: 4 km
Most of it is on roads (296 km), plus 112 km of state roads, 41 km of streets and 18 km of cycleways. Komoot warns that some segments may be unpaved and hard to ride, and that cycling is not allowed on parts of the route. Please check the state-road sections before the ride.
Stops along the way. For sleeping and breaks, Komoot shows a shelter at km 217, campsites at km 286 (Luxor), km 350 and km 441 (Norcenni Girasole), and camper parking at km 332 and km 371.
Highlights: San Gimignano, Siena, the Tuscan coast and the Arno valley.
- Start and end points: Komoot shows only A and B, without names. Tell me where you start and finish and I’ll add that.
- Riding time: Komoot estimates 23 hours 29 minutes at 20.3 km/h. Your real pace will probably differ, so I left it out of the description.