Reports by Dennis Prickett

A report of the ``Nove Colli''. I've come to Cesenatico, hometown of Marco Pantani, to ride the Nove Colli (nine hills) Grand Fondo, a 205 km long death ride in the hills on the eastern side of Italy near Rimini.

So what is Nove Colli? Nine major climbs plus other not so horrible climbing together totaling 89 km and 3220 metres of climbing., Also 34 km of flat bits and the fun part - 77 km of discesa. There is an option of doing a short course of 130 km with only 4 nasty climbs, and 1335 metres of climbing.

The riders have thinned out a lot by now and occasionally I am by myself and can occasionally see no one else. Pass through Ponte Uso again and my right leg is threatening to cramp full stop instead of the twinges I am having. The road undulates after Ponte Uso and this is actually a relief after a succession of grinding climbs followed by speedy descents. I can try and appreciate the countryside while I try and keep my leg from cramping.