Italy Divide 2021 Race recap -The spirit lives on

Day 9 Italy Divide - A Sunday of finishers galore, first (and only) woman in, and five riders who have called it quits

Day 8 Italy Divide - another big day for the finishers, and the dawn of another kind of big day

Day 7 Italy Divide - 12 more riders can now relax, and Jochen shared some expert advice

Day 6 evening Italy Divide - A troupe of Divide’rs roll into Torbole for the finish, some food and a warm bed

Italy Divide day 6 morning - The man with no gears also needs no sleep	

Day 5 evening Italy Divide -  Eating marathons begin, velvet chairs welcome sweaty chamois and the race hunger is alive

Day 5 Italy Divide morning - Trebole welcomes in Jochen with room for more today

Italy Divide Day 4 evening - Lake Garda is the new owner of one sweaty but happy bouncing dot!

Italy Divide Day 4 morning - 3 days of intense racing and it’s not stopping

The fifth edition of the Italy Divide was one that kept its unique identity and showed up as the rebel it has always been. After the cancellation of 2020 due to Covid, in a country that felt the very real effects of the virus in the early days, there was no question that it wouldn’t come back in 2021.

With some timing changes, the riders who had planned for spring and, with it milder daytimes and frostier climbs in the north, were surprised with a July start date. The beautiful italian weather was a consistent feature throughout, serving up highs of 40c leading to town fountain swimming events, and the most artful scratch announcement in the history of the event due to cramps.

![race flow](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/32dj1cS0NghTaXbHUzNeW4/f9ee456d84b97656e8c93b25671a42b9/Screenshot_2021-07-12_at_22.51.31.png)

The heat affected our leading pack too. __Jochen Böringher__ was fighting for the lead until around 890km when the exhaustion and heat took its toll signally the end of the fight for first. Jochen was able to maintain his second place, but the final few hours show that the exhaustion had a more lasting impact when we compare his race flow line to __Mattia de Marchi's__, coming in 10 hours after the first placed rival. 

For the first half of the race, the leaders were so close there was a wonder if it would be a re-run of last year's finishing line. But Mattia is not one to share. His drive was unparalleled in this race, barely stopping, except one time deciding to take a break for 4 hours as he approached the last 200km. 

Until somewhere around 550km, __Manuel Truccolo__ was a regular with the leading duo. This is the point in the race where Mattia and Jochen decide to make this a 2 horse race. Manu had been keeping up the moving pace, but by 1d 12h 53m, Manu decided it was time to roll-out his sleep strategy. The sleep vs movement ratio was perfectly calculated to allow him to hold on to his 3rd place without contention until the end, and give a stronger performance in the last 150km than Jochen before him.

Manu revealed after the finish that his social media detox was due to an absence of his phone (lost or uncharged we don't know) but he has now redefined what the purest form of unsupported bike racing is.

![data dive](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/CNVMHp1TK3IsaYN8HO5vm/d345fb3eb0c71ba093f3c2b198a64303/Screenshot_2021-07-12_at_22.58.34.png)

When three key data points are reviewed together for the top 10, there are no surprises and the top three finishers stand out as clear leaders. 

The data shows an interesting performance by __Ondrej Mohyla__ who finished in 7th place. He has one of the highest rest times for the top 10, yet average moving speed equal to that of fifth placed rider Nico Valsesia. Ondrej was a rider that climbed his way into the top 10 position as the rest of the pack started to slow on the second half of the race, making a case for adequate rest to outrun those who put their money on keeping the wheels turning.

Italy Divide covers a wide range of terrain, from rolling Tuscan hills, to the plains of the Po valley, with gravel, tarmac, and mountain single track all included in the experience. Picking the right bike for this event is not easy, with various set-ups from rigid gravel to mountain worthy bikes, all featured. Yet one terrain gave no mind to the preparation by our riders: Volcanic dust is the greatest leveller, and when ankle deep in dust, it doesn’t matter how wide your tyres are, everyone is taking their bike for a walk.

The elephant in the room at this year's event was the overwhelming absence of female riders. Questions remain open as to why only 1 woman was at the starting line despite higher registration numbers, when other events this year have had no problem attaining gender parity in both registration and starting line presence (Pennine Rally or Dead Ends and Cake as examples). Watching how other race organisers address the opportunity this year may help to bring more variety to the Italy Divide 2022, and ensure that the first female finisher is not the only female finisher.

Italian hospitality was ever present along the route, from the team supporting the free bike repair stations, to caffe owners offering riders their floor for the night, to Marco Ramuzzi who saved the day with 2 inner tubes. It is said that it is the chaos and the people that make you fall in love with Italy, and this event delivered on both.

In the end, the welcoming velvet chair, a black finisher’s t-shirt and some classic rock is what reflects the spirit of a race that will beat you up, but give you a classy place to rest when it's all over.

Whenever it may happen one thing's for sure, Italy Divide sixth edition it will be breaking all the rules again!

The second Sunday of the race, and it is the biggest haul of finishers this edition of the race has seen. Congratulations to the following 15 riders who made it to Lake Garda after we published last night’s report:

__Stefano Talevi, Stefano Baldi, Francesco Reni, Jan Sestac, Kurt-Aurel Stoessel__ (the youngest finisher and best note writer on the route), __Jan Rasmussen, Marco Lapelosa, Alex Copeta, Massimo Muttoni, Dario Zareipour, Gianluca Berdondini, Davide Guidetti, Michal Simek__ and __Stefano Vecchi__!

__Stefano Vecchi__ is the only rider to have started and finished all five Italy Divide editions!

We also welcomed onto the velvet finisher chair the only female chamois who sweated through 1300km, __Alessandra Bussoli__, and who  can also lay claim the title of 1st female finisher of the Italy Divide 2021. 

![Alessandra](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1lGKJIcGNPLxpH31bkYy7S/30da68595c545cb047fe5156edf79b60/1626034064176.jpg)

Although she was the only female that started and finished the race, there were many others who had signed up yet not able to start (69 other women according to the organiser). In a season where organisers have worked hard for gender parity, it is great to see that there was at least one female able to complete the event, and raises many questions to see what else needs to be done so that cyclists who register (men and women alike) can make it to the starting line. If you have some thoughts, we would love to hear from you.

With Monday just a few hours away, the remaining five riders are all on to the final climbs with two of the riders (__Marton Pauli__ and __Michele Spiller__) who can probably still make it before midnight, and be ready for work tomorrow.

A final thought for __Stefano Gregoretti__, who is still running the route, and currently 611km in and going strong!

### Daily Scratch
Unfortunately, with the biggest day of riders finishing, we also have five riders who left the event today: __Gabriele Casadei, Paolo Anzolin, Michael Arnold, Lorenzo Massari__ and __Paolo Vinzi__, taking our total __#scratchcount__ to 17 for the 2021 edition of the Italy Divide. We wish them well on their return home, and hope that all the 17 riders find the courage to come back for unfinished business another year.

Italy Divide 2021 was a fast and exciting race, as unique as last year but in its own way. We will do a final race recap tomorrow with a little look into the data, and highlighting some of the memorable moments shared over he last 9 days.


Saturday 10th July at 10.30am, is the time when the riders have officially been out there for seven whole days. 

Torbole welcomed in 10 more Italy Divide'rs throughout the day to add to the growing list of happy and exhausted finishers. Today we celebrate with __Martin Soucek, Jan Moravec, Jean-Federic Kuentz, Ernesto Valentini, Roberto Favaro, Claudio Rocchetti, Julien Gabet, Oscar Maier, Paolo Anzolin and Paolo Vinzi__.

And __Stefano Talevi__ will be hitting the finishing scene any minute now. 

All riders are now north of Bologna with the vast majority hitting the hills on a Saturday night. Let's see how many push through to grab a early morning pizza after the energy filled night. 

For most people, finishing the Italy Divide is enough cause for celebration, yet there are those amongst us who see the opportunity for more celebrations. This year, that person was __Erik Bizzoni__, who after being on the dusty gravel roads of Italy for 6 days, decided to pop the question to his girlfriend on arrival. 

Who could resist the romantic gesture of a proposal on the shores of lake Garda by a sweaty man? Not she, and she said yes. For him to have carried the extra weight of an engagement ring 1300km, and to yes to a man who would have more salt crusted on him than some Portuguese bacalao, shows it is true love on both sides. Congratulations to the newly engaged couple! 

![Erik propsal](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2hC7EBuL2ZRCTT9cfGZzYB/e58afaa1321fd69451654c2d5c21807f/IMG_20210710_193747.jpg)

### Daily Scratch
Second day in a row of zero scratches! the #scratchtotal remains at 12!

As things wind down and we watch the tail of the Italy Divide creep closer to the finish, tomorrow will be a good day to kick back and see who makes it in time for gettin
g back to work on Monday. Check in tomorrow for the final report on an exciting race. 


Today has seen the greatest number of riders heroically make it over the hills to Torbole and  celebrate cycling 1300km across Italy. 

Celebrations for the following 12 riders that took a moment to sit in the velvet chair and collect their finisher t-shirt since last night: __Niels Ihrman, Maximiliano Oliva, Luke Humphreys, Karke Anderle, Robert Schmidt Alex Romani Jeff Webb, Christina Menges, Erik Bizzoni, Marcelo Cristofoli, Guiseppe Colucci and Marco Giacomin__. 

__Martin Soucek__ is less than 35km from the finish and stands a good chance of descending down to the lake shore before midnight to celebrate tonight. 

While the realisation sets in for these riders that they do not have to get up and cycle tomorrow, some have already started to process the event on their way home. 

__Jochen Böringher__ has been doing a deep dive into the data from his 1st class train carriage and shared a good tip for experienced and newbie riders alike: hone your navigation skills so you can use that time to grab an extra 30 mins sleep like Manuel Truccolo did while Jochen and Mattia spent 50 minutes trying to find the route. It's not all watts and sawn-off toothbrushes that will win you the race.

Some other Italy Divide'rs who have had time to recover (physically and mentally) have been sharing some details of their final section. We are happy to see that __Zeno Molteni__ found his joy again and was able to rejoice at hail on the final summit, and dig out some negotiating tactics to use on the locals blocking his path:

![Zeno cows](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/2qGTONZFtQMMCpb0tezW9A/6db33dc5a94123ebf1055f11bf33074e/IMG_20210709_211320.jpg)

Marco Ramuzzi (pictured here with __Julien Gabet__ who is less than 100km from the finish today) has been helping out many riders throughout the last week. 

![Julien and matco](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/3CDSsgQseWaxaGbOr4CBt4/f65c31a0c956949f3eee823f7e5c6dbd/IMG_20210709_204138.jpg)

Riders have been very grateful for his friendly demeanor and skills, but none more than __Kurt-aurel Stoessel__ who was in dire need and left him a note to say thanks

![Note](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/54Y9wpN4Vxcsz986RWVst/ffa7e396650e847227b23a061ef8903b/IMG_20210709_204551.jpg)

Rough Translation (courtesy of Google and decryption of chicken scratch):

*Dear sports friend, thank you very much can please bring me 2 tubes!  So to continue my ITALY divide.  with the rest of the 50 €, go take them!.  Salut my saviour!* Kurt-A

### Daily Scratch
Friday is a lucky day for the remaining riders and we have no scratches as of publishing, keeping the #scratchtotal to 12.

All riders are now past 900km, with a big group about to make their way to Verona before they turn into pumpkins. After 1 week on the road some riders will be relishing the rhythm and freedom of the race, while others will be nursing saddle sores that have been given names and counting down every kilometer. Saturday is set to offer up good weather for the riders nearing Verona, and maybe another big wave into the finishers enclosure. 

Check back tomorrow night to see how their Saturday unfolded.


Between 9.52am CET and 5.21pm CET today, Jack welcomed six more riders, and the final five members of the top 10 leaderboard, to the finishers enclosure to celebrate their great effort over the past 6 days.

__David Gambuli__ (6th), __Ondřej Mohyla__ (7th), __Guido Dreesen__ (8th), __Matthias Fischer__ (9th), __Matteo Racanti__ (10th) and __Nicola Bellamoli__ (11th) are now relaxing on the shores of Lake Garda with a view of the beautiful mountains they passed to reach the end of Italy Divide 2021.

A few hours later, the fearless __Zeno Molteni__ came to a halt at the velvet chair at 7.34pm CET, and __Tomas Labanc__ rolled in 20 minutes later.

__Big congratulations to today’s eight finishers after nearly six days of constant northwards motion!__

Day six brought the challenging weather predicted, giving many riders a free shower to rinse off the dust accumulated over the gravel roads since Pompei,  before reaching Torbole. It also brought with it some well chilled beverages for those that have checked-in already:

![finisher beer Italy Divide 2021](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/1vVorYoQ9sbeOs6quRNXgs/802bde3de76f814d774b8523bf548a86/finisher_beer.jpg)

__Niels Ihrman__ is the next racer who is onto the last few meters of the final climb and should make it down to the finish this side of midnight on day six. __Maximiliano Oliva__ has arrived at the valley bottom ready for the final climb behind Niels and the pedal through to the end.

Three motivated riders have travelled through Verona and are halfway up the first of the two climbs:  __Karel Andrle__, __Jeff Webb__ and __Alex Romani__.

Motivation is high to reach the finish today, as a group of five are spreading upwards from Verona to go into the night.

Most riders are now ahead of the 800km mark, with a chunk making their way between Florence and Bologna, and the rest flowing along the flats with Verona in their sights.

### Daily Scratch
Day six was just too much for quite a few riders, and we say goodbye to six Italy Divide’rs: __Thibaut De Raikem, Ugo Capetii, Martin Matzner, Tomas Malek, Giampiero Monti__ and __Fernando Zabala__. Taking our __#scratchcount to 12__.

With the dawn tomorrow, the riders will pedal into the last 24 hours of their week on the beautiful trails of Italy. Many are motivated and full of energy to cover the last elevation and kilometres to make it to Lake Garda under seven days. Check in tomorrow to see who is now enjoying a comfy bed, and who is fighting to the end.

As dotwatchers, our sleeping patterns can sometimes be as eratic as the riders, knowing that the nighttime hours bring with it as much action as when the sun is shining.

__Nico Valsesia__ showed his determination to reach the finish line through the night, and in an incredible feat, overtook __David Gambuli__ who was half a climb in front of him at midnight, coming into Torbole as the 5th placed finisher. Not only did he show that gears are accessory even in the alpine climbs, but also that he can eat up climbs with no sleep without issue. Congratulations Nico on first place singlespeed finisher and an excellent ride!

David Gambuli played for team sleep last night, and stopped around midnight to get some recovery and finish the final leg. Up and at ‘em again by 6am CET this morning, he is now only 20km from the velvet chair and reuniting with Nico.

__Ondřej Mohyla__ has been playing tag with __Guido Dreesen__ through the night, but hungry to reach the finish line only took a power nap around 1am CET, letting Guido pass in front, until the pair rejoined at the summit. From the top of the climb, Ondrej kept moving down towards the last climb, and Guido decided it was time for some rest. Not before grabbing a photo of the night time view at the top. Maybe oen to visit in teh daytime...

![guido dreesen highest point](//images.contentful.com/6hyijb95boju/7zQtujLbPMI3wTWQwle9bi/0acebb3d47097b27675a75ec47a47b83/Guido_highest_point.jpg)

Guido is now atop the last climb, and Ondrej is charging down the descent 10km behind David towards the finish. The velvet chair is set to welcome at least 3 more lycra clad bums in the coming hours.

__Zeno Molteni__ and __Matthias Fischer__ charged through Verona in the middle of the night and started the final ascent in possession of the last two top 10 spots. 4am CET was the signal for Zeno to bed down letting Matthias make a break away from Zeno. Matthias has not stopped since and is about to start his descent down into the final valley as we write.

While Zeno was grabbing some well earned rest, a small parade of cyclists crept past and up the hill, giving the current 10th place position to __Nicola Bellamoni__. Behind him was __Matteo Recanati__ snaking up the hill, and __Tomas Labanc__. They are now all ahead of Zeno who got going again at 9am CET.

__Niels Ihrman__ and __Maximiliano Oliva__ have also kept ploughing along the plains during the night with minimal stopping time, passing through Verona for breakfast and ready to embrace the fight against gravity for the final two times in the race.

The remaining riders are now spread between the 800km and 1100km mark, with a group formed between Bologna and Verona, and the others progressively moving over the Tuscan hills this morning.

For those that reach Bologna and onwards today, more hot weather awaits, and with an added dash of thunderstorms just to keep things interesting in the afternoon.

Who will lay claim to the final few places in the top 10 on the sixth day of the Italy Divide? The dot watching today will be filled with action.

After Jochen’s happy arrival in Torbole and commencement of the eating marathon, the velvet chair was host to __Manuel Truccolo__ after 4d 5h 41m of riding. 

A great ride from Manu that kept him securely in 3rd place throughout most of the 4 days he spent in the saddle. He shared some images on day one of his experience, and then became quite silent, despite the fact he has a lot to brag about his performance during the race: finishing only 7 hours behind Jochen, he registered a moving ratio of 75.5% and an average speed of 17 kph. Congratulations on an impressive ride! 

At 4d 11h 16m after leaving Pompei, __Vedran Gracan__ checked into Torbole and claimed 4th place finisher. Vedran wasn’t shy to show he belonged in the top 10 from the start, taking a place in the top six of the leaderboard on most days. Despite setting off behind __David Gambuli__ and __Nico Velsasia__ this morning, when the climbs started he took the chance and gradually pulled away to make it triumphantly down to the lake this evening. Bravo Vedran!

The final climbs are merciless, and for Nico making his way up and over alpine routes with one gear has allowed the geared David to pull away for the first time in many days. David is now on his way up the final climb, and Nico is on his descent down from Monte Trombe. Let’s hope the separation anxiety isn’t too bad during the night before they can refind each other once again at the finish.

__Ondřej Mohyla__ has been finishing strong for 24 hours now, and worked his way up to 7th place, overtaking __Guido Dreesen__ on the first of the two final climbs. Despite having stopped more than Guido, his average moving speed is higher at 15.5 kph vs Guido’s 14.5 kph. Pasta does really seem to make him faster.

__Matthias Fischer__ is currently on the other side of Verona from the final climbs. He has been pedalling almost continuously today, refreshed by the luxurious long sleep last night, stopping only in Governolo (which has been a popular tourist spot for the Italy Divide’rs) for some supper earlier tonight.

__Zeno Molteni__ has been making his way across the plains, but with limited enjoyment due to potential saddle fit issues, tendon trouble, and some very audible wind on the ‘not so glamorous flats’. Hang in there Zeno, less than 200km to go.

__Tomas Labanc__ has been joined by 2 newcomers to the pointier end of the race: __Matteo Recanati__ and __Nicola Bellamoli__, who (along with Tomas) are travelling as a chasing pack in hunt of the tail end of the top 10 riders, and currently 40km behind Zeno at Mantova.

__Luke Humphreys__, as one of the only English riders, is just making his way into Bologna. Will he be aiming to find a bar to catch the second half of the match to hopefully cheer his team to victory or choose to keep on pushing through and cross the 1000km mark before midnight?

Tales from down the line have been limited today as riders sweat their way through another scorcher of a July summer day. Most are north of Siena, and many having passed through Florence and into the Apennine range.

### Daily Scratch
Happily, we have no new scratches to add to the list today, with riders choosing to keep pushing forward, and maintaining a total of 7 scratches to date.

Night has fallen and the riders are going into their fifth night out on the gravel road. As the remainder of the top 10 tackle the final (mountainous) hurdles to reach the finish line, we will check in eagerly tomorrow morning to see how close they are to Jack’s velvet chair.

Under the watch of some very bemused locals last night, we celebrated with Mattia on his tremendous finish taking 1st place. This morning, our attention turns to the riders who have been battling the course through the night.

__Jochen Böringher__ has gone all in through the night and not stopped since leaving Verona, He reached the top of the Monte Tomba in the early hours of this morning. Descending down to the town of Avio, he allowed himself a quick break, before taking on the last climb and descent. It all paid off as we see a bouncing dot in Torbole this morning - big congratulations to Jochen for an excellent ride through difficult conditions, and being the rival Mattia needed.

__Manuel Truccolo__ was on a mission through the night, stopping only for some short rest between midnight and 2am CET just before Verona. With all the caffes closed in the town of Romeo and Juliette when he passed through, his only option was to take on the climbs as the sun was rising and aim for a coffee on the top. Manu has just reached the pass of the penultimate col and will be able to see his destination, but only after he climbs another 1100m elevation to earn the descent down the other side. A gruelling day awaits him as he inches closer to the welcoming shores of Lake Garda.

The fight for fourth place is into its fifth day. __Nico Valsesia__ and __David Gambuli__ have spent more time shoulder to shoulder over the last four consecutive days, than they probably did with their families during COVID lockdowns. With only 150km left to go they are coming into Verona with the final mountain range in sight.

__Vedran Gracan__, after catching up with the pair yesterday, kept close during the night but took a break in the early hours and is now a few kilometers behind, holding onto 6th position.

__Guido Dressen__ has now unleashed what he has in the tank, and with the finish line edging closer, has been pedalling through the night creating a gap between him and the next closest rider who is 30km behind.

__Matthias Fischer__ and __Zeno Molteni__ decided that sleep was needed during the fourth night away, and clocked off at 11pm CET last night. The Tuscan hills were surely very comfortable, as they didnt get going again until 6am and 7am CET respectively.

This did not go unnoticed by __Ondřej Mohyla__, who was no longer satisfied just wrestling for 10th spot with Tomas yesterday. Setting sights higher, he pushed through the night to overtake both Matthias and Zeno, placing him in 8th position this morning. 

Behind the pointy end, the riders are now split into 2 sections of the Italy Divide, with one half moving through the valleys before and after Siena, while the other half further in front are enjoying the sights of Florence and the steep climbs of the Apennine Mountains. 

Today is set to bring us more bouncing dots as the pointy end takes on the final tough climbs, while the racers further down the line will face another day of roasting temperatures and the hangover of a country celebrating Italian wins in both football and the Italy Divide.

After __3d12h03M__ of non-stop racing (*source: trackleaders*), __Mattia de Marchi__ has sped downwards to Torbole to reach the finish line and take 1st place finisher of Italy Divide 2021! Congratulations to Mattia for delivering such an exciting race from day one!

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/1ym5OryQ0n3rZXHrJe" width="480" height="270" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/superguidatv-ciao-darwin-applausi-8-1ym5OryQ0n3rZXHrJe">via GIPHY</a></p>

Since checking in on Mattia’s dot this morning he has barely stopped, continuing through Verona and taking the climbs in relentless fashion, increasing the gap between himself and __Jochen Böringher__. His racing mode clearly does not have an off position.

Jochen has been an admiral rival, continuing to push in an effort to keep pace, however today his dot was seen to stop more frequently, maybe not having fully recovered from the exhaustion of the past days. He is half way up the penultimate col, and we will wait to see if he rolls in during the night to Trobole.

__Manuel Truccolo__ has maintained his ownership of 3rd place, and is now only 70km behind Jochen. He stopped for lunch in Bologna, and has continued through the afternoon until 8pm CET for some refueling in a small town just east of Mantova. Less than 200km stand between him and the finish.

__David Gambuli__, __Nico Valsesia__ and __Vedran Gracan__ have been sticking close all day and making their way across the plains. None stopped in Bologna preferring to keep rolling and they are still on the move as we write.

__Guido Dreesen__, __Matthias Fischer__ and __Zeno Molteni__ have all been pedalling well today,  as they crossed the Tuscan hills towards Bologna. Guido is in the lead of the pack and about to crest the final climb before he descends the last 70km towards the city, some food and a refreshing cold beer. 

The final place in the top 10 has been wrestled over more than a dog chew in a doggy day care today: __Tomas Labanc__ set off in possession of the 10th spot this morning, but __Ondřej Mohyla__ was keen to take ownership as soon as the opportunity occurred and stayed hot on his heels throughout the morning. 

Ondrej took an early tactical break for lunch lulling Tomas into a false sense of security as Tomas continued onto Florence where he took a leisurely stop. Ondrej (refueled and moving again) took the opportuntiy presented to him and peddled through Medici’s hometown, now the proud holder of 10th place. Tomas took chase, and was able to wrestle it back, but Ondrej has not fully let go and has stayed in snatching distance right up to publishing. 

It is clear the race spirit is strong in this couple and will undoubtedly roll into a nighttime duel.

The heat has been unforgiving for the riders since Saturday morning, and today social media showed garmins logging 40c (104f). Ultra Cyclists being solution-orientated people never pass up an opportunity to cool down and even get in some cross-training in the local fountains:

![fountain swim italy divide](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/W6tKQ2BFpVB6RrZcAnPr6/468ccd900752cf013c705160bcee2a0d/fountain_swim.jpg)

Many of the riders have rolled over the 600km mark, and had the opportunity to make acquaintance with the great people of [Free Bike Lab Station](https://www.instagram.com/freebikelabstation/) who have been welcoming riders to help with any repairs, and offer some shade when needed.

![free bike lab](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/FFy1PG92RIOmQCtrqK204/912d6e1c6c1e816497adf4faccfe3475/free_bike_lab.jpg)

### Daily Scratch
Today we also say goodbye to one more rider __Davide Busoli__, who quit the race earlier today, taking the total #scratchcount to 7.

We have a bouncing dot, but the racing is far from over as the chasing packs near the final climbs, some with gears, and some without, but all with a hunger to keep racing!

Italy Divide 2021 gave us a battle for 1st place finisher between 2 experienced riders in desert heat and over rough terrain. As with last year, this race has shown us the true nature of this sport, with the 1st place finisher being in true competition until the very end with no one except himself.

Tomorrow we will wake up to the winner of Italy vs Spain, and no doubt more disruption in the leaderboard. *Buona Notte*.

(header image credit [Enough Cycling Collective](https://www.instagram.com/enough_cycling/?hl=en))

During the night, __Mattia de Marchi__ has firmly cemented his lead of Italy Divide 2021: as we write he is 70km ahead of Jochedn, and storming across the plains. Mattia managed to get some shut-eye for a couple of hours after passing through Bologna around midnight, and has been moving steadily since.

__Jochen Böringher__ is putting up an incredible chase, despite some severe issues with exhaustion yesterday. He writes on his instagram that he was moving slowly yesterday due to lack of food and the effect of the heat. 

The good news is that he refuelled with Italy’s finest (pizza at 4am anyone?), had a nap in the shade and is back moving again. His ‘slow’ speed has kept him firmly in 2nd position and, hoping he finds his racing spirit again today, the final big cols could still offer him some opportunities.

![jochen icecream italy divide](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3KJ6YMYJsxeuHh8cFJWz4N/3cc6bfdab98a48d6c5bb6f08222aa4ac/Jochen_icecream.jpg)

__Manuel Truccolo__, not wanting to share his 3rd place at all, grabbed some downtime during the night in the Tuscan hills, before continuing just before sunrise, and is on his way into Bologna in time for a morning coffee.

__Nico Valsesia__ and __David Gambruli__, still keeping close throughout the night, also bedded down for a couple of hours early on. __Vedran Gracan__, who had been closing in on the duo, saw the opportunity and pushed through the night to overtake them and pass into 4th place in the early hours. Alas, the move was short lived as Vedran embraced the comfort of sleep just before sunrise - at the same moment that Nico and David were rolling again and slipped past in the night to regain their rankings from before.

Vedran’s effort was not in vain however, as he is now 90km in front of the remaining four riders in the top 10. While __Tomas Labanc__, __Matthias Fischer__ and __Guido Dreesen__ stopped in the quaint village of Castelnuovo Berardenga for a late night dinner, __Zeno Molteni__ (feeling refreshed after his 10 hour sleep the night before) stormed past the group and flew into Siena in 7th place. 

Quickly grabbing some fuel, Zeno sprinted out of Siena to keep moving in the night, with Matthias Fischer in hot pursuit. Guido Dreesen, maybe feeling the effects of a good heavy Italian dinner, decided to let them chase each other as he rested for a few hours. With dinner digested by 3am, Guido set off, with Tomas alongside, to rejoin Zeno and Matthias at 7am CET and welcome the day - as a group once again - on the trails over to Bologna.

Here Zeno shows you how to make it thorugh the hot days, and pays hommage to vetrans of the Italy Divide with aplomb:

![zeno](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/33xXN8a2CJvODOHukRqJjW/60d0d6f2bf365042b0d9a5d8fc90205e/zeno.jpg)

A top 10 position is not guaranteed for these riders though. A hunting pack of __Maximiliano Oiliva__, __Ondřej Mohyla__, __Guiseppe Colucco__, __Karel Andrle__, __Jeff Webb__ and __Niels Ihrman__ have all been keeping close enough they can probably see the dust clouds of the top 10 riders. 

Further back in the pack, many riders are enjoying the volcanic landscapes around *Parco Naturale Regionale di Bracciano Martignano* at the moment. __Hakan Hoglin__ is off route and appears to be making his way to Orte. Assuming a mechanical, we hope he can get it fixed and join back as soon as possible. 

While these fearless riders take on the heat and gravel in beautiful Italy, a mention goes out to __Stefano Gregoretti__ who is running the Italy Divide this year. Pictured here with the orgnaiser Giacomo (aka Jack) as he makes his way north.

![stefano gergoretti trail runner italy divide](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5czR5VKiZoXuhSam1HbVXb/01aa62fdc274171a6a659d9adbaf57a1/Stefano_jack.jpg)

As you would assume, it's another hot day in sunny Italy, and on the plains north of Bologna for the pointy end, it will feel even hotter. We are approaching 72 hours of non-stop racing, with only 200km, but a lot of climbing, separating Mattia and the finish line. The question is: will Mattia make it in time for the match tonight? 

The dot watching today is going to be gripping.

Italy Divide is in its fifth year, and on Saturday 3rd July at 10.30am  riders will follow a set route (but without checkpoints) for 1250km and climb 22,000m of altitude gain over 4-7 days of riding on their northbound travel from Pompei to Lake Garda.


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