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Thirty Campag-loving roadies with a slot in their October diaries will soon snap up places on the Campagnolo Experience, a cycle holiday put together by Thomson Bike Tours of the US. The 3000 Euro holiday includes an entry into the Campagnolo Gran Fondo in Rome on Sunday, October 13th, a warm-up for 800km of riding to get to the Campagnolo Factory in Vicenza on Friday, October 18th.
On each day of the ride, Campag-sponsored professional riders will join the guests on the Campagnolo Experience. The VIP tour of the Campagnolo factory is to be followed by a short ride around Vicenza with Campagnolo staff and celebrity riders, past and present.
"A VIP dinner in Vicenza hosted by Campagnolo will close out an incredible week of bike riding, cycling history and culture," said Thomson Bike Tours.
A statement from Campagnolo said: "To understand what Campagnolo means one must experience the culture from which its great cycling passion was born, see the roads and races that instilled cycling culture into the company’s DNA, race amongst the masses of Italian cyclists and witness the pride with which the company charges forward as it strives continuously to improve the cycling experience. Previously this insight was limited to a select few journalists, top athletes and industry insiders."
Taking a dig at components produced in Asia, the Italian company continued:
"The factory floor, previously a forbidden city, will provide [guests] with an inside look as to just how each and every component on their bike is produced in painstaking detail and with passionate attention. Witnessing raw materials enter the factory and leave as completely finished product is a unique experience. It is an experience that is almost unthinkable in today’s world of continuous outsourcing and offshoring but the only option for Campagnolo as we can’t be sure that the same passion we have in Vicenza can be replicated in factories overseas."
Campagnolo is this year celebrating its 80th anniversary.
