Granfondo Via del Sale, live.

From the Cervia seafront into the hills of Romagna

The Granfondo Via del Sale is an early season road gran fondo from Cervia on the Adriatic coast into the hills of Romagna.

The 30th edition is on Sunday 4 April 2027, on the last day of the Cervia Cycling Festival, which runs from 2 to 4 April. The start is at 8:00 on Lungomare Grazia Deledda, in front of the free beach in Cervia. Race packs are collected at the Fantini Club on the seafront on Friday and Saturday, and early on Sunday morning.

From the 30th edition there are three routes, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. On Sunday the Granfondo covers 143 km and the Mediofondo 100 km. On Saturday a Social Ride of about 55 km is held without a ranking and without closed roads. The organiser lists the 2027 routes as being updated, so details may still change.

The idea goes back to the salt workers who set out from the Cervia salt pans to deliver salt to the villages in the hills. The first edition was held on 6 April 1997, with 750 riders and a start in front of the Magazzino del Sale. The organiser's history also tells of the morning Marco Pantani turned up at the start with a group of friends and asked if they could ride too.

The event follows the national rules of ACSI cycling and is open to riders who turn 19 in the year of the event. Riders without a valid licence can take a daily card for 10 euros with a medical certificate for competitive cycling. Start grids are assigned on the best time of the last two editions.

On Livebib you can follow a cyclist who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the organiser.