My first foray into Italian mountain biking came in the spring of 2013 when my partner and I entered an eight-day XC stage race in Liguria’s Apennine mountains. The course stretched from the “Bay of Poets” in La Spezia, west across the entire region of Liguria, and ended a few kilometers from the French border. The race included stages with ascent totals in excess of 10,000 ft, and more 2+ hour hike-a-bike sections than I care to recall.

On the flight over from the US, I was expecting a gravel road race against svelt roadies. What I found instead were challenging singletracks, beautifully layered stone and root lattice to pedal through, earth-curved views of the sea, and some legitimately skilled mountain bikers from as far away as South Africa.