At this time of year cycling fans worldwide enjoy watching the Giro d’Italia, one of the three great Grand Tours of Europe. It began in 1909 and 2026 marks the race’s 109th edition. Described as the “Beautiful Country” since the Middle Ages, the Bel Paese has a long and storied tradition in bike racing. Italy’s respect for the traditions of the sport has evolved so that now riders who are not Giro pros can turn back the clock and ride vintage bicycles in these fabled landscapes.
In 1997 the first edition of l’Eroica began in Tuscany on the famous white roads. Riding pre-1987 bicycles and decked out in period-style clothing, participants enjoyed riding in gorgeous scenery on a challenging course. There was an irresistable camaraderie. Word spread and eventually the numbers grew from the original 92 to 9,000 participants from 50 countries in 2025. L’Eroica itself has grown as a kind of franchise, with l’Eroica rides in multiple countries. It has inspired rides like the Retro Ronde in Flanders and Anjou Velo Vintage in France. These began in 2009 and 2011 respectively. But perhaps its biggest impact is the catalyst for the creation of the Giro d’Italia d’Epoca. This is the Vintage Tour of Italy series of retro rides.
The Giro d’Italia d’Epoca, founded in 2011, describes itself as: “an association that brings together a multitude of people of different genders, ages, and professional skills, but united by a passion for cycling, and in particular for vintage cycling; united by the desire to discover areas rich in landscape, natural, artistic, and food and wine excellences, using their bicycles.” There is a Board of Directors, joined by event organizers, commercial partners and general members. As of writing, the 2026 event calendar includes 17 retro tours in Italy, with another one in San Marino plus two in Brazil.
These are not races or Gran Fondo events. There are no timing chips or team classifications but participants enjoy routes chosen for their beauty, cultural and historical appeal. Lengths and difficulty vary and some rides are more established than others but the enthusiasm is clearly evident throughout.
The season begins in the Florence area in March and rides cover most of the country, north to south, with the final event in Puglia, the heel of the Italian Boot, in late October. Many of the events have creative, sometimes ironic, names, such as “The Bad Wind,” “The Titanic,” “The Dusty One,” “The Divine,” and “The Winery”. One ride is “The 99 Curves,” representing the number of turns between two villages. In Fausto Coppi’s hometown, appropriately, we have “The Mythical.”
The organizers not only go to great lengths to make the routes chosen special but many come up with excellent artwork to promote the events. This is a tradition seemingly set by l’Eroica but every year La Mitica also distinguishes itself in poster art.
It should be noted that the Giro d’Italia d’Epoca is not the sole organization in Italy covering the “ciclostorica” events. There is a bit of overlap with the Giro delle Regioni, with this association membership’s covering 10 rides in Central and Southern Italy. And one can imagine there are other local events as well.
The success of these events and the growing interest in vintage bicycles has also led to an excellent magazine. First published solely in Italian as “Biciclette d’Epoca,” the publication is now available in four languages. The English edition, issued by print-on-demand through Amazon.com, is prosaically entitled “Vintage Bicycles” now. It includes sections on l’Eroica, the Giro d’Italia d’Epoca and some of the specific events under its umbrella. One finds columns about organizations interested in vintage bicycles, such as the VCC in the UK, as well as Italian ones There are features on noteworthy vintage bicycles dating back as far as the early 1900s but also into the late 1980s along with tips on restoration. There are pieces on racing history and personalities, primarly Italian but always fascinating.
L’Eroica has been a model of success over the last 29 years. It has grown to include its own numerous branded events, a special members’ club, dedicated merchandise and even three Eroica Cafes. It has even worked with Bianchi so that there is a source of new yet l’Eroica-compliant bicycles. Full credit to founder Giancarlo Brocci for his vision. On the other hand, one senses that the rides featured by the Giro d’Italia d’Epoca are heavily manned by volunteers wanting to share the joys of vintage bicycles as well as local tourism organizations proud of the unique offerings of their regions in Italy. Or San Marino. Or Brazil. And willing to share them in a way that contrasts so much from mass consumer tourism.
So while we can love the Giro d’Italia in its modern form every May, we can also love this very personal approach to cycling offered by the other Giro, the Giro d’Italia d’Epoca. We can ride the same roads that Fausto Coppi or Ottavio Bottechia did and honour their memories with our own efforts. We might not go very fast but we will be with friends.
For more information on the Giro d’Italia d’Epoca, check out their webpage (Google translate helps!) here.
Biciclette d’Epoca has its own website here.
Issues of the magazine are available through Amazon’s national sites, depending on which language you want. For example, US readers can find the latest issue of “Vintage Bicycles” at Amazon.com here. Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk also offer English-language editions for residents.
The images are courtesy of Giro d’Italia d’Epoca.
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