Nove Colli — the Nine Hills — is the largest and most celebrated gran fondo in Italy. Twelve thousand riders leave Cesenatico harbour before dawn on a late-May morning and ride 200km through the hills of Romagna, crossing nine categorised climbs before returning to the Adriatic coast. Marco Pantani grew up on these roads. The atmosphere is pure Italian cycling — loud, chaotic, passionate, and unforgettable.
The event looks moderate on paper. The total elevation is 3,900m, which is significant but not Alpine. None of the climbs exceed 1,000m altitude. The gradients are steep but not extreme — most of the major climbs sit between 6% and 8% average. But the cumulative effect of nine climbs in 200km, ridden in 25-30 degree heat, creates a grinding fatigue that is closer to a mountain gran fondo than a hilly sportive. The riders who finish well at Nove Colli are the ones who trained for the accumulation, not just the individual efforts.
This guide is the framework we use with riders inside Not Done Yet who are targeting Nove Colli and comparable Italian gran fondo events. The sessions are built around repeated climbing intervals, the fuelling plan accounts for the heat, and the pacing strategy reflects the reality that climbs 7, 8, and 9 are where this event is won or lost.
What Makes Nove Colli Different
Most sportives have one or two signature climbs surrounded by easier terrain. Nove Colli has nine climbs distributed across the full 200km, and the terrain between them is not flat — it undulates constantly through the Romagna hills. There is no extended recovery section. There is no long valley road where you can soft-pedal for 30 minutes and eat. Every apparent flat turns into a 3-4% drag that keeps the effort above true recovery.
The nine-climb structure. The climbs range from roughly 3km to 7km in length, with gradients between 6% and 8% average and maximum pitches of 12-14%. Individually, none of them would feature on a list of the hardest climbs in cycling. Collectively, they are devastating. The first three feel manageable. Climbs 4-6 feel honest. Climbs 7-9 feel like a different event — because by then you have been riding for five to seven hours, you have climbed 2,800m, and the Italian sun has been cooking you since mid-morning.
The key climbs:
- Barbotto (6.6km, 6.2% average): A steady, grinding ascent that demands tempo discipline. Not the steepest, but its length and position later in the route make it a test of accumulated fatigue.
- Ciola (4.3km, 7.5% average): Short enough to tempt you into riding too hard. The gradient bites — sustained 7.5% after 160km of racing is a different proposition from 7.5% at kilometre 30.
- Gorolo (3.7km, 7.8% average): The steepest of the major climbs. At 7.8% average with pitches above 10%, Gorolo arrives when your glycogen is low and your legs are carrying the full weight of the day. This is where pacing and fuelling across the first six climbs pay off — or do not.
- Polenta (4.4km, 6.8% average): A deceptive climb that kicks hardest in the second half. Riders who read the 6.8% average as moderate discover that the first 2km are gentle and the last 2km are above 8%.
The heat. Nove Colli is held in late May. Romagna sits between the Apennine foothills and the Adriatic coast, and late May temperatures of 25-30 degrees Celsius are normal. Some editions have been hotter. Unlike Alpine events where altitude provides cooling on the climbs, every Nove Colli climb is below 700m — there is no thermal relief. The heat compounds everything: glycogen burns faster, sweat rate increases, perceived effort rises, and the riders who have not specifically prepared for warm conditions lose 5-10% of their sustainable power by climb six.
The social element. This matters more than you might think. Nove Colli is an Italian event and it has Italian atmosphere. The feed zones serve pasta, fruit, pastries, and espresso. The crowds on the climbs are engaged and vocal. The finish in Cesenatico harbour, with the canal boats and the evening light, is one of the great moments in amateur cycling. Training hard enough to actually enjoy these things — rather than staggering through them — is part of the point.
Fitness Benchmarks
Your power-to-weight ratio predicts your Nove Colli experience more reliably than any other single number. These benchmarks assume proper pacing, adequate fuelling, and heat-adapted or at least heat-aware preparation.
| Target | W/kg (sustained climbing) | Approximate Finish Time | Notes | |--------|--------------------------|------------------------|-------| | Front group | 3.8+ W/kg | ~6:00-6:30 | Strong climber, aggressive pacing, racing not riding | | Strong finish | 3.0-3.7 W/kg | ~7:00-8:00 | Well-paced, well-fuelled, climbing within sustainable limits | | Comfortable completion | 2.5-2.9 W/kg | ~8:30-9:30 | Conservative pacing, full use of feed zones, accept the heat tax | | Finish target | 2.0-2.4 W/kg | ~9:30-10:30 | Every climb at Zone 2-3, extended feed zone stops, survival pacing on climbs 7-9 |
The crucial detail: these are sustained climbing watts measured across the full event, not a fresh 20-minute FTP test. A rider who tests at 3.5 W/kg in a temperature-controlled gym in March will produce closer to 3.0-3.2 W/kg on the ninth climb at Nove Colli in 28-degree heat. Build that degradation into your targets.
Check your FTP zones against these benchmarks. The VAM calculator will translate your W/kg into expected climbing speeds on each of the nine climbs, the climbing time estimator will show you what each climb costs in minutes at your target power, and the Race Predictor will give you a realistic finish-time estimate for the full 200km.
The 12-Week Training Structure
The plan follows a base-build-taper structure and assumes you are riding 8-10 hours per week with a reasonable aerobic base. If you are starting from less, add 4-6 weeks of Zone 2 foundation first.
Phase 1: Base (Weeks 1-4)
Volume: 8-12 hours per week. Four to five rides. 80% in Zone 2.
The base phase builds the aerobic platform that sustains nine climbs. The endurance floor must be high enough that six hours of riding at moderate intensity is routine, not an event. If your longest ride before starting this plan is three hours, you need more base time before the build phase will work.
Weekly structure:
- 3-4 Zone 2 rides (1-2 hours midweek, building long ride on weekends)
- 1 quality session: tempo intervals, 2x20 minutes at 85-90% FTP, building to 2x25 minutes by week 4
- 1 long ride building from 3 hours to 4.5 hours with 600-1,000m of climbing
- 1-2 gym sessions: single-leg press, lunges, core stability, hip flexor mobility — posterior chain work that supports climbing posture without excessive load
Key metric: By week 4, your long ride should be 4.5 hours with sustained climbing at conversational pace. You should be comfortable eating and drinking on the bike without losing rhythm. If either of these is a stretch, extend the base phase by two weeks.
Phase 2: Build (Weeks 5-10)
Volume: 10-14 hours per week. Two quality sessions. Long rides building to 5-6 hours.
This is where the training starts replicating the nine-climb structure. The key adaptation is not a single hard climb — it is the ability to produce 85-95% FTP efforts repeatedly, with incomplete recovery between them, across a full day.
Weekly structure:
- 2 quality sessions (see below)
- 2-3 Zone 2 rides
- 1 long ride building to 5-6 hours with 1,500-2,500m of climbing
- 1 gym session (maintenance — reduce from base phase)
Quality session 1 — repeated climbing intervals: After a 15-minute warm-up, ride 4-6 climbing intervals of 10-20 minutes at 85-95% FTP with 5-8 minutes recovery. Progression across the build phase: weeks 5-6, do 4x12 minutes; weeks 7-8, do 5x15 minutes; weeks 9-10, do 6x15 minutes or 4x20 minutes. If you have access to climbs, ride them. If you are on the flat, use a turbo trainer in ERG mode or overgeared riding on any available gradient. This is the workhorse session. The nine climbs at Nove Colli demand exactly this pattern — sustained threshold efforts separated by inadequate recovery, repeated until your body learns to tolerate the accumulation.
Quality session 2 — VO2max work: 5x4 minutes at 106-115% FTP with 4 minutes recovery. This session builds the aerobic ceiling that makes your threshold efforts more sustainable. On climbs 7-9, your FTP has degraded — a higher VO2max means the gap between your degraded FTP and your ceiling is still wide enough to keep climbing at a useful pace. Professor Seiler's research on the polarised framework applies directly — two intensity sessions per week separated by enough easy volume to recover properly.
The stacked weekend. At least twice in the build phase, ride back-to-back days of 4-5 hours Saturday and 3-4 hours Sunday, both with significant climbing. The Sunday ride on tired legs is the training stimulus that most closely replicates climb 8 at Nove Colli — sustained effort on a body that would rather be recovering. These weekends are hard. They are also the most specific preparation you can do.
Low-cadence torque work. Every second week, include 3-4 low-cadence intervals of 6-8 minutes at 55-65 RPM on a moderate gradient. These recruit type 2 muscle fibres at aerobic intensities and build the neuromuscular capacity for grinding up 7-8% gradients in the heat when your natural cadence drops. Do not overdo them — two sessions per month in the build phase is sufficient.
Heat adaptation. If you are training in a European spring where temperatures are still 10-18 degrees, add deliberate heat exposure in the final three to four weeks of the build phase. Five to six sessions of 60-90 minutes on the indoor trainer without a fan, in a warm room, at moderate intensity (65-75% FTP) trigger the key adaptations: plasma volume expansion, improved sweat rate, and reduced core temperature for a given workload. These adaptations take 7-14 days to develop and persist for 2-3 weeks. Time them so the adaptation is mature by race day.
Phase 3: Taper (Weeks 11-12)
Volume drops 30% in week 11, 50% in week 12. Keep intensity alive with shortened versions of the key sessions — 3x10-minute climbing intervals at FTP in week 11, 2x8 minutes in week 12. Remove volume, not sharpness. Rest, eat, sleep.
One session in week 11 should be a 3-4 hour ride with 3-4 climbing efforts at race pace — a full dress rehearsal of effort, fuelling, and hydration. Week 12 is openers only: two rides of 60-90 minutes with a handful of short efforts.
Climb-by-Climb Pacing Strategy
The nine-climb structure creates a pacing problem that rewards discipline and punishes ambition. Each climb arrives feeling slightly harder than its gradient and length suggest because of what came before it.
Climbs 1-3: Conservation
Target effort: 75-85% FTP. These are the discipline climbs. The legs are fresh, the morning air is cool, and the temptation to ride hard is strong. Resist it. Your job on the first three climbs is to arrive at climb four with full glycogen, controlled heart rate, and no accumulated fatigue beyond what 80km of riding naturally produces. If you are chasing wheels on climb two, you are racing the wrong part of the event.
The VAM on your first three climbs should be 15-20% below your peak sustainable climbing speed. It will feel slow. That is the point.
Climbs 4-6: Controlled Effort
Target effort: 82-90% FTP. The middle climbs are where the event sharpens. The heat is building, the early-morning coolness is gone, and the climbing is properly hard. Ride at a pace that feels sustainable but honest — not conservative, not aggressive. Stay on top of nutrition. Use the descents and flat sections to eat, drink, and drop your heart rate to Zone 1.
This is where many riders make the Nove Colli mistake: climbs 4-6 feel harder than expected because of the heat and accumulation, so they push harder to maintain their time targets. Pushing harder on climb 5 to save two minutes costs you ten minutes on climb 9. Hold the discipline.
Climbs 7-9: The Event Within the Event
Target effort: 85-92% of whatever you have left. This is where honest pacing across the first six climbs pays off. If you have ridden climbs 1-6 at the right intensity, fuelled at 80-90g per hour, and managed the heat, you arrive at climb 7 with enough left to ride it properly. If you have overcooked any of the earlier climbs, you arrive empty.
Climb 7 is where you find out what kind of day it is. If you can hold 85% FTP on the seventh climb, you are well-paced. If you are struggling at 75%, accept it and pace accordingly — two more climbs remain and walking any of them extends the day significantly.
The final descent back to Cesenatico is the reward. But you still have to ride it — a fatigued rider descending after nine climbs in heat needs concentration, not celebration. Save the celebration for the harbour.
Fuelling for Heat
The Nove Colli fuelling challenge has two layers: the caloric demand of 200km with 3,900m of climbing, and the elevated fluid and sodium losses from riding in 25-30 degree heat.
Target: 80-90g of carbohydrate per hour from the start. Use the fuelling calculator to plan exact quantities against your bodyweight and expected ride time.
The heat changes the maths. Carbohydrate oxidation increases in warm conditions — you burn more glycogen per hour at the same power output when it is 28 degrees compared to 18 degrees. This means the fuelling targets that worked on training rides in spring may be insufficient on race day. Err on the higher end of the range.
Hydration. This is where Nove Colli is different from Alpine events. In the heat, a 75kg rider loses 1.0-1.5 litres of sweat per hour. At two bottles per hour in 28-degree conditions, you are barely keeping pace with losses. The hydration calculator will frame your specific numbers, but plan for 750ml-1,000ml per hour in warm conditions. Use every feed zone to fill bottles.
Sodium. Heat increases sodium loss through sweat. Target 600-1,000mg of sodium per litre of fluid. Sodium tablets, electrolyte mix, or salted food at feed zones — the delivery method matters less than the quantity. Hyponatraemia (low blood sodium from drinking plain water without electrolytes) is a real risk in hot gran fondos and the symptoms — nausea, confusion, cramping — mimic bonking. Riders who experience those symptoms after adequate carbohydrate intake are usually sodium-depleted, not glycogen-depleted.
The Italian feed zones. One of the great pleasures of Nove Colli is that the feed zones serve actual food. Pasta, fruit, cake, bread with jam, water, cola, espresso. Use them properly. Stop for 3-5 minutes. Eat real food. Drink. The time lost at a feed zone is negligible compared to the time lost bonking on climb eight because you tried to save two minutes at the feed zone at climb five.
Hourly plan:
| Hour | What to Eat | Notes | |------|------------|-------| | 1-2 | Drink mix (40-50g/hr) + 1 gel or bar per hour | Easy to absorb, appetite present, heat building | | 3-4 | Drink mix + feed zone food (pasta, fruit, rice cakes) | Flavour variety prevents nausea in heat | | 5-6 | Drink mix + gels + feed zone food | Gut tolerance dropping — eat what appeals | | 7+ | Gels, cola, liquid carbs, whatever stays down | Solid food may revolt — liquid and semi-liquid calories |
Pre-race. 8-10g of carbohydrate per kg of bodyweight the day before. Breakfast 3 hours before the start — 2-3g/kg of carbs, moderate protein, low fibre. Start hydrating the evening before with sodium-enhanced drinks. The Italian dinner the night before Nove Colli is part of the ritual — enjoy it, but make sure carbohydrate is the centrepiece, not wine.
Train your gut to this fuelling volume and rate in the build phase. At least four long training rides should include the full 80-90g per hour protocol. And practise fuelling in the heat — your gut behaves differently at 28 degrees than at 14 degrees, and discovering that on race day is a problem you can avoid.
Equipment and Gearing
Gearing. A compact crankset (50/34) with a 28 or 30-tooth cassette covers every Nove Colli gradient. The steepest sustained pitches are 10-12%, which a 34x30 handles at 70+ RPM for a 75kg rider. A 34x28 works if your W/kg is above 3.0. Below 3.0, the 30-tooth gives you a recovery gear on the steeper sections of climbs 7-9 that might keep you spinning when a 28 has you grinding. Use the gear ratio calculator to check your specific setup.
Tyres. Italian roads in Romagna are generally good but some descents have rough patches and debris in the corners. Run 25-28mm tyres at 6-7 bar. Tubeless is preferred for rolling resistance and puncture resistance, but clinchers with good latex tubes are fine.
Sun protection. This sounds trivial. It is not. Six to nine hours in Italian sun in late May without adequate sun protection leads to sunburn, increased dehydration, and impaired thermoregulation. Apply SPF 50 before the start and carry a small tube in a jersey pocket for reapplication at feed zones. White or light-coloured kit reflects heat. A cycling cap under the helmet shades the forehead and channels sweat.
Bottles. Carry two 750ml bottles and plan to refill at every opportunity. Insulated bottles keep drinks cooler in the heat — warm electrolyte mix at hour five is a morale problem that affects intake.
Race Day Execution
The Start
Nove Colli starts early — typically before 6am from Cesenatico harbour. The first 30km are flat-to-rolling along the coast before the route turns inland toward the hills. Use this section to warm up, settle into a group, eat breakfast calories, and drink. The temperature is cool at 6am. By 9am it will not be.
Managing the Heat
Start drinking before you are thirsty. By the time thirst arrives, you are already 1-2% dehydrated, and at 2% dehydration your power output drops 5-8%. The early morning is your window to build a hydration buffer — drink 500-600ml in the first hour even if you do not feel you need it.
Pour water over your head and neck at feed zones. Wet your jersey. If bottles are available at the roadside, use one for drinking and one for cooling. Core temperature management in the heat is a performance strategy, not a comfort measure.
The Final 30km
After the ninth climb, the route descends back toward the coast and finishes in Cesenatico. The last 30km are flat. You are exhausted. Eat and drink through this section — the finish celebration is better when you are not dizzy. Ride at 60-70% FTP in a group if possible. Do not sprint for the line unless you are certain your body can handle it after nine climbs in the heat.
The finish in Cesenatico harbour is one of the great moments in gran fondo cycling. Twelve thousand riders, Italian crowds, the Adriatic sunset, and the knowledge that you rode Marco Pantani's roads and crossed every climb. That is worth twelve weeks of training.
Frequently Asked Questions
The detail above covers the structure. Here are the questions we hear most from riders inside Not Done Yet who are targeting Nove Colli.
How does Nove Colli compare to other Italian gran fondos? The Maratona dles Dolomites has more dramatic climbing (4,230m across seven Dolomite passes) but is at altitude with cooler conditions. Nove Colli is lower, hotter, and more relentless — the nine-climb structure with minimal recovery between them creates a different kind of fatigue. Both are outstanding events. If you are choosing between them, consider whether you prefer Alpine scenery and altitude or Romagna heat and atmosphere.
Can I ride Nove Colli on limited climbing training? You can finish, but you will not enjoy it. The sustained climbing across nine efforts requires specific adaptation — your body must learn to produce 85-95% FTP on a climb and then recover enough to do it again within 15-20 minutes. Flat-terrain riders should substitute with indoor trainer climbing sessions and overgeared tempo work. At minimum, include two multi-climb weekends on real terrain in the build phase.
Should I do a recon ride? If you can get to Romagna before the event, riding two or three of the key climbs — particularly Barbotto, Ciola, and Gorolo — gives you a significant tactical advantage. Knowing the gradient changes, the surface quality, and the shade patterns on each climb lets you pace more accurately on race day. Most riders cannot do a recon, and the event is perfectly rideable without one — but those who have ridden the climbs before pace better, consistently.
What about the shorter route? The organisers offer reduced-distance options. This guide is built for the full 200km, nine-climb route. The shorter routes reduce the volume but include many of the same climbs — the training principles apply with less emphasis on the base-phase endurance building.
