GeoGravel Tuscany

GeoGravel Tuscany: where gravel riding meets village festival

For an entire weekend, Pomarance, a small town in the Province of Pisa nestled among the geothermal hills of Tuscany, transforms into the Italian capital of gravel cycling. GeoGravel Tuscany – The Grey Roads is much more than a race: it is a gathering open to everyone, where a passion for gravel blends with the discovery of a unique landscape defined by fumaroles, boric acid vents, rising steam, and scenery reminiscent of lunar terrain.

The vision of Paolo Bettini

The event bears the signature of Paolo Bettini, Olympic and multiple-time road world champion, who serves as its creator and honorary ambassador. His vision is one of slow, contemplative cycling, far from the stopwatch and close to the beauty of the surroundings: kilometers of white roads, nature reserves, olive groves, and villages explored from the saddle, with headquarters located at the Piazzone, the town's beating heart.

Four routes for every rider

The sporting program features four tracks designed for every type of cyclist, from beginners to ultra-endurance athletes:

• Short — approx. 46 km with 1,000 m of elevation gain, passing through the Monterufoli Nature Reserve and the villages of Libbiano and Serrazzano.
• Medium — approx. 77 km with 1,480 m of elevation gain, featuring nearly 25 km of gravel through forests and olive groves, with a stop in Querceto.
• Long — approx. 135 km with 2,780 m of elevation gain, including over 45 km of gravel reaching Bolgheri and its winemaking traditions.
• Ultra — approx. 208 km with 4,360 m of elevation gain, the most extreme challenge, split into two loops, ridden from the afternoon deep into the night.

Music, flavors, and the Wild Tuscany vibe

Beyond cycling, GeoGravel Tuscany is all about conviviality. At the GeoVillage in the Piazzone, partner stands, DJ sets, and themed evenings take center stage: the opening features music by Gualtiero, DJ Roby, and local artists, followed on Saturday by the high-energy Back to the 90s party, complete with strobe lights and 90s-themed gadgets. The cuisine celebrates the wild soul of the territory with the Wild Tuscany menu — featuring scottona beef, game, traditional pasta dishes, and trippa alla volterrana — along with the GeoBurger, a generous 200-gram Chianina beef burger grilled over an open flame and served with 'geothermal' sauces. The food area is open to non-cyclists as well, confirming the event's spirit as a popular festival.

The birth of the GeoRun

Starting in 2026, the offering expands with the GeoRun, a circuit-based trail running race organized by Atletica Volterra in collaboration with Velo Etruria Pomarance: a 3 km loop to be repeated multiple times across three distances (15, 12, and 9 km), starting from the Piazzone. It is a new way to experience the same geothermal hills that define the cycling event on foot.