A Boulderite Tours Northern Italy by Bike with Giro Champ Andy Hampsten
by Adam Perry for Boulder Weekly 1/6/2022
Before the last day of riding on the itinerary of legendary cyclist Andy Hampsten’s first tour with his company, Cinghiale, since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled its 2020 season, the Boulder-based former pro—still the only American man ever to win the Giro d’Italia—stood on the rooftop deck of a hotel in Levico Terme, Italy, and pointed at a far-away ridge up in the Dolomites, across a lake and a long, wide valley of apple orchards.
“We’re going right about . . . there,” he said, squinting, after one of the 15 or so American cyclists who’d made the trip to Italy for about 450 miles of challenging rides asked Hampsten to describe the next day’s first climb. For someone who spent the majority of his 20s and 30s competing in the world’s most difficult and mythologized bike races, from the Giro to the Tour de France to the Tour de Suisse, Hampsten is skilled at accurately describing a ride while also being honest about the fact that it’s going to humble you.
Read the rest at BoulderWeekly‘s website here.
Adam Perry 