Why do we call Passo dello Stelvio the greatest icon of the Giro d’Italia? Which of the alpine climbs resembles a wolf in sheep's clothing? What idea was born in the infamous blizzard on the Gavia Pass?
REACHING THE CLOUDS is an unforgettable journey through 50 selected climbs, where the most exciting chapters of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Milano-Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen and other major events of the cycling calendar were written. At a distance of 230 pages, you will discover their history, sense their unique character and receive practical tips on tackling them on your own road bike. Each chapter includes excellent photographs, which connect an engaging road tale with the characteristic scenery of the Dolomites, the Alps, the Pyrenees and other European mountain ranges.
Where does the journey to the clouds begin? In a quiet Asturian village, on the flower-scented Ligurian coast, near the shores of the nostalgic Como Lake or in sleepy alpine ski resorts? Every next page brings different surroundings, allowing readers to travel between iconic locations faster than professional cyclists and reach new heights, discover new goals, turn distant dreams into realistic plans.
This is the most mythical place on the map of the Italian Grand Tour, where the overwhelming power of nature and the perfect design of the road have become one, defying the laws of physics. Its hairpin bends built on stone foundations above the picturesque Trafoi, after almost 200 years, still amaze and take your breath away.
It is a complete climb, not done for the sake of the moment, but experienced from the first to the last kilometre. The Passo dello Stelvio is a snow-covered roof and the greatest icon of the Giro d’Italia, and perhaps of road cycling as a whole.
Beginning of the climb: Bormio | length: 24,3 km | average gradient: 7,4% | max: 9,2% | elevation: 1533 m | height: 2758 m a.s.l.
This is a climb that every lover of the Grand Boucle and French roads must have in their portfolio, while the unique, windswept lunar landscape is one of the most rewarding sights a cycling ascent can offer. And there is plenty to be rewarded for, as almost every single one of the 21 kilometres of the route to the summit of Mont Ventoux challenges potential conquerors, reminding them that it deserves to be called the K2 of road cycling – a mountain that defends itself against intruders by any means necessary. And sometimes wins…
Beginning of the climb: Bedoin | Length: 21,4 km | Average gradient: 7,5% | Max gradient: 12,9% | Elevation: 1603 m | Height: 1909 m a.s.l.
The narrative is created by Aleksandra Górska, a journalist known for her characteristic writing style (cyclingquotes.com), who has been involved in road cycling for nearly 10 years.
The stories told, the sceneries described and the nicknames given to all climbs included in this photo-album emphasize their unique character, breathing life into unruffled mountain ranges.
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Emotions speak much louder from the pages of this photo-album than pure facts and numbers. This atmosphere is perfectly captured in the foreword written by Adam Probosz, a journalist and sports commentator associated with Eurosport for two decades.
Professional cyclists agreed to share their unique experiences from competing on the climbs included in this photo-album. On the pages of REACHING THE CLOUDS you will find quotes from: Samuel Sánchez, Małgorzata Jasińska, Dariusz Baranowski, Przemysław Niemiec, Bartosz Huzarski, Tomasz Marczyński, Maciej Paterski, Michał Paluta and Marek Rutkiewicz.
Capturing the beauty of the mountains and emotions associated with conquering their peaks on a bike is a mission that we have been carrying out for many years as The Climb. A large wall calendar depicting famous cycling ascents quickly became our first bestseller, while the experience gained through creating and publishing it's seven consecutive editions has encouraged us to make another step forward. We were ready to dream bigger.
Therefore we believe that REACHING THE CLOUDS will turn out to be not only an extensive source of cycling knowledge and inspiration, but also, thanks to its high aesthetics and quality, a valuable addition to any bookshelf.
TECHNICAL INFO:
- 28x20cm - large format
- high-quality, thick G-Print 150g paper
- elegant hard cover refined with two types of varnish
The unique nature of each cycling climb and surrounding scenery is not easy to capture in just one picture. Mountains are known for their fickle nature, and just like it isn’t possible to step into the same river twice, it isn’t possible to tackle exactly the same ascent either.
However, we’ve made an attempt to convey a pure essence of a single one of them, printing over 100 carefully selected photos of mountain roads and passes on the pages of this photo-album. Some of them are already known from The Climb calendar, but the vast majority will allow you to take a fresh look at Passo dello Stelvio, Mont Ventoux or Alto de L'Angliru.
Shipping
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Packaging
You don't have to worry about getting your photo-album in perfect condition.
We send them carefully packaged in strong cardboard boxes. You can rest assured - no crashes are terrible for them! :)
