Mountain Cronoscalata,Granfondo China

Ciao Everyone,

After a day of rest travelling,  we arrived on Tuesday afternoon in the old town of Chuxiong, welcomed by traditional dances and music.

The hotel is located in the town square,walking distance from all the local attractions,food stalls & restaurants. 

The temperature was pleasant and everyone was happy to go out for a meal.So we all gathered and walk down the road until we found a local restaurant.

We then discovered the beauty of Chuxiong , a traditional minority people’s village which enabled us to step into the past of China.

We walked along the canals , hosted into people houses to try their local plum wine and snap few shots with them.

Dinner time arrived like a flash,  with all little BBQ food street stalls we adventured into one which we picked our raw skewers and vegetables ready for the following day Cronoscalata.

We remounted our bikes the following morning for a 23.5km mass start time trial to a summit of 2450 m.s.l with a total ascent of nearly 800 metres.It was sharp gently painful in the legs and lungs. I loved it so much after reaching nearly 2200 m.s.l. the cloud level was with us making the road nice and slippery with temperature dropped down to 6 Degrees Celsius.

A bit chilly a the the top but still amazing. Everyone was dismounting their bikes to be loaded in the truck to go to the Dali Stage.

Tomorrow will be stage from the Dali lake race,115km on the lake.

Ride Safe.Share the road with everyone.

SD Team

2nd Stage of the Colourful Yunnan International Granfondo

Ni Hao,

After yesterday stage we got whisked to a lovely town of Yuxi,near the Fuxian Lake.

Nordic Ways, The Event Organizing Company well re-known for various sport events around China, transferred over 400 riders and bikes with a well organised system .It was smooth like a snooker table.

The start it was more at a decent time taking place at the lovely Neer Square, where behind Monday morning the square was full of local people exercising before their daily routine.

This stage started at an altitude of over 1600 m.s.l. with 3 climbs over the 1900 m.s.l. with a choice of 2 distances,82km & 174km.

The course was completely closed from traffic, again for the entire distance. We were riding the first part on a motorway with amazing views and a smooth tarmac followed up by little country lanes along the lake.

The sceneries were flabbergasting, wanting you to stop and enjoy the view and mix with the elements.

Temperature was rising touching nearly 30 degrees Celsius, making the ride more enjoyable and also toasting our pale skin.

I did personally decide to do the 82km distance so I could enjoy this beautiful lake resort. After crossing the line, Gianfri & I went for a gentle 10km warm down followed up by a lovely Chinese lunch on a round table shared with a Scottish,a German,a Colombian and an American.

After lunch while waiting for the long distance race to be completed I went for a swim in the lake.Yes correct I know, my mum always used to say when I was a kid, do not get into the water immediately after lunch but wait acouple of hours max.

Well, Sorry Mum but the weather was amazing, nearly middle of November,  a mountain lake at nearly 2000 m.s.l. it had to be done.

The winner again for the 174km distance stage was Tugulur,the super strong Mongolian in 4 hours 30 minutes.

Until the next WIFI connection from Fuxian Lake

DSAI JIEN.

SD.

Granfondo China 1st Stage

The SD Team after spending couple of days in Shanghai flew to Kunming, in the Yunnan Region , south west part of China bordering with Burma & Laos.

From the sky the scenery was amazing, plenty of mountains and if you are a real cyclist you must love them.

After a 75km ride on a transfer to Yiliang we arrived at1500 m.s.l.(metres from sea level) to the race office. It was nice to see familiar faces around from the past.

We then mounted the bikes in the hotel car park attracting spectator and also the police wanted to check our passport.

We then went out for a walk to discover the beauty of this little town finishing it off with a lovely dinner ,helped by Jingyan & Tim.

The following morning we started quite early,we had a leader vehicle taking all of us from the hotel to the race start line.Before the gun shots to declare the start of this week Granfondo China we had an amazing starting ceremony with various dances from the local communities.

Local playing music along the route.

We knew that the stage was going to be 120km with a total ascent of nearly 2000 metres. Everyone’s testosterone level was well above the daily recommended allowance, this meant that the speed was riveting around the 40km/h average for the first 20km before hitting the climbs. I said “hitting climbs”, yes because personally I was not prepared to shoot up over 1800 m.s.l. in just few km and nearly gasping for oxygen.At the point I decided that I was going to take the stage as a Training Ride at altitude due to the fact we were going to reach above 2000 m.s.l.

I was really pleased for my decision,because I had a chance to enjoy the colourful surrounding,blending in with nature and the friendly peoples.

At dinner with our heroes Jingyan & Tim

I was very impressed by the amazing organization that Kris Van De Velde, Race Director for the entire event put to make this stage stunning.

The reason behind my comment comes from the fact that 120km of road were completely closed for us,  with police officers standing on the side of the road to assist us if needed. Also the food stations were very efficient, one every 25km or less, I think some event organizers of some European Granfondos or Sportives should learn from this. The various road condition made some part a technical stage.

Nonno Pippo climbing up

The winner of the stage was Tugulur with a time of 2 hours and 58 minutes.He is a member of the Mongolian National team that last month too part at the World Championship in Richmond,USA representing his country.

For now it is time to say good bye until the next stage report and when we will find again some internet connection.

From Yunnan DSAI JIEN.

SD.

Repacking for next stage

Ni Hao China

It is China time..Few of us from the SD team are in China to attend the Granfondo China.But  first a quick stop in Shanghai to chill before the mountains.

Just a view from our gardens.

Shanghai By Night

Having fun with some kids bike

It mean open for business

Shanghai by night

If you are a cyclist you know its mean.