Nova Eroica Buonconvento: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The loop starts and finishes in Buonconvento and stays inside a narrow band between 133 and 328 metres. That is deceptive: across 131 kilometres more than 2,300 metres of climbing add up, because the Crete Senesi are built from short steep hills and the course is hardly ever flat.

The hard kilometres come early. At kilometre 22.1 a climb of 1.18 kilometres at 7.1 percent with ramps to 18.6 percent gets in the way, another follows at kilometre 30.3, and at kilometre 33.9 the steepest passage of the route arrives, 1.13 kilometres averaging 9.8 percent. The profile then calms for a long stretch before the climbs bunch again from kilometre 106 and a final ascent of almost two kilometres with pitches over 16 percent closes the day at kilometre 122.1.

The format is what sets it apart. Nova Eroica alternates free-pace transfers with five timed sections, ridden on modern gravel, road or cyclocross bikes. Feed stops are in Torrenieri, Monteroni d'Arbia and at Podere La Campana, with a water point at Torre a Castello immediately before the hardest section on Monte Sante Marie, the gravel wall the professionals also fear at Strade Bianche.

Pacing Strategy

Because only the timed sections are scored, this is not one continuous race but a series of separate efforts with recovery in between. Ride the transfers deliberately controlled and save the hard work for the five specials, otherwise you enter each of them already loaded.

The day is decided between kilometre 22 and kilometre 34, where three climbs follow closely and the last averages almost ten percent. On loose gravel the thing that matters is a gear you can turn seated; getting out of the saddle costs rear wheel traction and stops you sooner than you expect.

The trap is the apparently easy middle. Between kilometre 40 and kilometre 100 the profile looks harmless, but the closing climbs from kilometre 106 land exactly when reserves are gone. Eat and drink at the feed stops, and take the water point at Torre a Castello seriously, because the hardest section of the loop begins right after it.

Training plan for Nova Eroica Buonconvento: 12-week build

Expect five to seven hours of riding. The demand is mixed: long aerobic blocks on the transfers, broken up by five hard, very intense sections lasting from a few minutes to half an hour.

That dictates the training. Ride long sessions with intense blocks inserted rather than steady endurance, and practise the transition itself: from an easy pace straight into a hard effort and back down again. That switch is what this format asks for.

The race is decided on the short steep gravel climbs, Monte Sante Marie above all. Repeats of one to two minutes on a steep hill, ridden seated on a loose surface, match that exactly. Train only on asphalt and you will underestimate how much traction control costs.

April conditions vary: the Crete Senesi can be bone dry or heavy and sticky after rain, and each asks for different tyre pressure and lines. Schedule rides on wet unsealed roads and test the tyre width you intend to race in both states.