Stages three and four of inGamba’s Donkey Week were ostensibly the calm before the storm – stage five is a 208km monster – but ended up being two monumental, heroic and outrageously fun days in the saddle.
Day three was “only” 112 kilometres starting in Sertã on a “flat” parcours that had some 1,900m of elevation gain, over a series of seemingly endless rollers. That brought us to Crato, a small town built around a Knights Hospitaller fortress, which we called home for the night.
Our fourth day covered 166km and 2,400m of climbing to Estremoz, a town close to the Spanish border that’s famous for its marble, its black pigs and its castle – where we bedded down after a feast of local delicacies.
These have ben long, happy rides alongside some of the most incredible cyclists – and the nicest people – you’ll ever meet, with the kind of support that would put a lot of pro races to shame. With inGamba, you’re never far from a fresh bottle, a snack or a fast and steady wheel to draft. We believe in riding hard – and making everything else as easy as possible.
