The Tuscany Trail: Conor Dunne takes on the world’s biggest bikepacking event

Tuscany is one of the most beautiful places to ride a bike in the world. Not a bad location, then, to host the world’s biggest bikepacking event, the Tuscany Trail. This event has been around since 2013 and its 475km distance, featuring nearly 6,000m of elevation, was originally designed to incorporate some of the most stunning places to ride a bike in Tuscany.

Around 4,700 riders take on this challenge every year across its rolling hills, coastal paths, and gravel roads, including the iconic white chalk paths of Strade Bianche. Dotted with medieval villages and ancient vineyards along the way, it’s no wonder these roads are so highly revered by the cycling community.

Read more: Ciao bella Toscana: One last evening in the cycling heartland of Tuscany

You can take as long as you like to compete it, with some gently winding their way round the route over a couple of weeks to truly appreciate the landscape and of course the fabulous food and drink the region has to offer. No such luxury for Conor though. He's looking to complete the 475km in just two days, which – judging by his past record with GCN challenges – could get interesting. Let's hope he had a decent breakfast inside of him before he gets underway.

The bike for the job: Canyon Grizl

© GCN

GCN presenter Conor Dunne takes a well-earned breather alongside the Canyon Grizl he rode on the Tuscany Trail

For this challenge Conor is riding a Canyon Grizl, one of the brand’s dedicated gravel bikes, which he has built specifically for the Tuscany Trail with a little help from Campagnolo, Selle San Marco and Wahoo. He’s opted for a Campagnolo Ekar GT groupset which is the more adventure orientated of the brand's two groupsets. It is 13-speed mechanical gearing and will allow him to run a super easy gear, which could prove a godsend with the bike fully loaded on some of those super steep Tuscan climbs.

He’s also running Campagnolo’s Zona GT wheelset with alloy rims which are robust enough to deal with the challenging terrain he’ll face on this route. Some of the singletrack along the way is particular hardcore and more rocky than the chalky gravel that you might expect.

To make sure he doesn't get lost along the way, Conor is riding with a Wahoo Roam head unit which will not only keep him on the right paths but will also help him track his progress to see how far ahead of or behind schedule he might be. Plus it will keep him in touch with the film crew who are following along separately by car - this is a self-supported event after all. Thankfully, his supportive presenting teammates have pre-programmed it with some friendly reminders of when to eat and drink (no-one wants a repeat of Unbound 2023) and Si Richardson had even loaded a slightly dodgy playlist for him to help keep his spirits high.

On a ride of this length and over this kind of terrain saddle comfort is of real importance. Conor's using Selle San Marco’s Regal saddle to help take some of the pressure off and help absorb some of the vibrations coming through from the rocky roads, leaving him more time to focus on the riding and that stunning scenery.

He’s also loaded his Selle San Marco bags with all the equipment and spares he needs for this sort of challenge, being careful he has enough necessities for the trip without being to overloaded and weighed down for the ride and those climbs ahead.

Read more: Essential bikepacking gear: Conor Dunne's tips to start your bikepacking adventures

So with the route loaded into the Wahoo and his bags packed Conor’s ready to take on what should be an amazing couple of days in the saddle. Will he make it in the allotted time or has he once again been over optimistic with his calculations? Watch the video at the top of this page to find out.

Have you ever ridden in Tuscany? What’s your dream gravel epic destination. Let us know in the comments below.

For more cycling challenges and adventures head to our dedicated cycling challenges section on the GCN website.