Tuscany Trail 2021: Fulcrum joins the adventure!
Tuscany Trail 2021: Fulcrum joins the adventure!
11 March 2021
Tuscany is a magical land studded with beautiful cities of art, rolling hills, incredible food and white roads. Imagine discovering all this on your bike, following an unsupported 500 km route along with fellow adventurers from all over the world. The Tuscany Trail, Italy’s first unsupported bikepacking event and the pioneer at the European level, is an unforgettable experience that lets you discover one of the most beautiful corners of the country, feel the thrill of adventure and be part of one of the most lively communities in the international bikepacking panorama.
Here at Fulcrum we still talk about our experiences at the 2016 and 2017 events, in which four members of our team took part and finished. With the same enthusiasm with which we reached those finish lines, in 2021 we decided to support the eighth edition of the Tuscany Trial by becoming an official sponsor.
The unsupported bikepacking formula. The Tuscany Trail is not a race and there is no time limit for completing it. You decide your own pace. Being an unsupported bikepacking event, every participant must complete the route by themselves, without any technical or mechanical support. However the route is scouted in advance with a maniacal level of care by the organisers and you’re obviously allowed to ride with friends. This is where the Tuscany Trial reveals the beauty of an adventure shared with long-time friends or perhaps with newly-made friends along the road.
The route. The Tuscany Trail covers 500 km of country roads, singletracks, mule tracks and white roads, winding their way through the Tuscan hinterland. With about 9,000 metres of climbing and some lethal climbs, the route mustn’t be underestimated. But the quality of the itinerary chosen by the organisers guarantees that all segments are rideable, even though some might test your limits, such as the famous gravel climb to the hamlet of Radicofani, but that’s all part of the fun. The 2021 edition has added Volterra to the route: a bike riding paradise made of kilometres of white roads and, obviously, breath taking views. The organisers will soon set off on their scouting trips and, as Andrea Borchi told us, they will be using their new Fulcrum wheels: “We are proud to have an Italian company of Fulcrum’s standing at our side. Their gravel and MTB wheels, with their established reputation for performance and reliability, will accompany our adventures over the upcoming months as we scout the perfect route. We are very delighted that Fulcrum believes in our concept of NO RACE adventure”.
Bikes and wheels. The Tuscany Trail is an event designed for lovers of off-road adventures and the choice of mountain bike or gravel bike is up to you. Even though all rideable the route is demanding and calls for a reliable bike to ensure a fun and safe experience. We recommend fitting wheels that roll quickly on the fast sections but that are also stable in the technical off road sections. For gravel riders Fulcrum’s Rapid Red wheels have been designed specifically for mixed off road/tarmac use. Available in both 700C and 650B versions, these wheels provide stability and traction and thanks to their wide channel can fit large tyres. The 2-Way Fit Ready system lets you run both clinchers and tubeless setups, even though the latter is certainly the most suited for such a mixed terrain bikepacking adventure. For those who prefer mountain bikes, Fulcrum has designed a range of wheels for off road use in 29” and 27.5” options.
For us at Fulcrum, the Tuscany Trail is an indelible memory. It’s an experience that goes beyond the simple act of pedalling, it’s the synthesis of the perfect bicycle adventure to share with friends. We love the idea of supporting this community and seeing our wheels in action in the most demanding situations, because we believe that they’re the perfect travelling companions that you can count on. The reliability of our products is of paramount importance for us.
We are proud to have an Italian company of Fulcrum’s standing at our side. Their gravel and MTB wheels, with their established reputation for performance and reliability, will accompany our adventures over the upcoming months as we scout the perfect route. We are delighted that Fulcrum has decided to back a ‘no race’ event which is based on the concept of authentic adventure. A bike can give you so many more emotions if you forget about the bike computer and Fulcrum has fully embraced this idea with their latest Rapid Red.
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