Skip to content
TIER 1

Jeroboam

Bergamo, Italy · 2026: September 26-27

VERDICT Italy's gravel masquerading as a wine tour until 7,000 meters of climbing and mandatory night riding separate the romantics from the masochists.

81
LAB SCORE
—
RIDER SCORE · RATE IT →
[05]

The Ratings

Course verdict

Jeroboam masquerades as gravel but delivers two-thirds asphalt—don't be fooled, this isn't easy road riding.[5]

Course Profile ratings for this race. Select a point for its explanation. LOGISTICS4/5LENGTH5/5TECHNICAL5/5ELEVATION5/5CLIMATE4/5ALTITUDE3/5ADVENTURE5/5 31/35
Course Profile
How the scoring works →
Custom plan

Train for Jeroboam

A training plan for Jeroboam—shaped to your fitness and the hours you have.

START MY CUSTOM PLAN → $15 / WEEK
[01]

Course Overview

The world's toughest gravel ride where wine bottle sizes determine your suffering quota and 7,000 meters of climbing is just the appetizer.

186 mi
Distance
23,000 ft
Elevation
Bergamo, Italy
Location
September 26-27, 2026
Date
Field Size
$100
Entry Cost
+ Google Calendar Download .ics
MORE IN ITALY: Gran Fondo Nove Colli · Nova Eroica · Grand Tour 3 Cime Lavaredo
[03]

The Course

Cyclist riding on paved road through tree-lined route with overcast sky during gravel race segment - Jeroboam - Erbusco, Lombardy, ItalyPhoto: YouTube / VC Adventures
Cyclist lifting bike over orange gate barrier on rural road surrounded by hills and vegetation - Jeroboam - Erbusco, Lombardy, ItalyPhoto: YouTube / VC Adventures

Jeroboam masquerades as gravel but delivers two-thirds asphalt—don't be fooled, this isn't easy road riding. The Lombard Prealps serve up Roman cobbles, vineyard doubletrack, and 30% mountain bike trails that'll have you hiking sections. Wine country never tasted this bitter.

Signature challenge: The 4pm start guarantees you'll ride most of this beast in complete darkness, navigating technical terrain with a headlamp while your body shuts down. It's not the 7,000m of climbing that breaks people—it's doing it blind for 14 hours straight.

SURFACE COMPOSITION
Course
asphalt_percent 67%
gravel_offroad_percent 33%
asphalt_percent 67%gravel_offroad_percent 33%note 0%
18
MILE
The Vineyard Beating
First 1,200m of climbing packed into 30km through Franciacorta's famous vineyards. Those postcard views come with gradients that'll snap your chain if you're not careful.
62
MILE
Lago d'Iseo Reckoning
Circumnavigating Italy's fourth largest lake sounds romantic until you hit the technical singletrack and loose rock descents. Tubeless isn't optional—it's survival.
100
MILE
The 95% Rule
By checkpoint 3 at 161km, you've done 95% of the climbing but only 53% of the distance. The math doesn't lie—everything after this is about not falling apart in the dark.
140
MILE
Lights On Reality
Mandatory lighting kicks in as you grind toward Lake Garda in complete darkness. Twenty hours is fast here—plan for longer and pack batteries accordingly.
RIDERS REPORT
Stradivari descent
Absolutely ridiculous descent with insane steep gradients and massive cobbles bigger than your head
Alpine sections
Pretty gnarly gravel sections up into the Alps, with big mountain pass typically hit around midnight to 1 AM
Massive cobbles bigger than your head on steep descents that are absolutely insane and really steep
Course turned out to be 90% on road, more of a low drag than expected with less gravel than anticipated
[04]

From the Field

About 30 seconds into the ride we got absolutely soaked and decided to take shelter at a petrol station because there were other riders all huddled together in the little doorway. We got hit with hailstones and absolutely torrential downpour.

BikeRadar · 148.9K views

There was the opportunity to ride through the night but we decided we weren't quite epic enough for that. We figured with the timings that we'd hit the big mountain pass maybe at midnight or one o'clock in the morning and obviously pitch black, and we wanted to actually see the views at that altitude.

BikeRadar · 148.9K views

Nothing's opened our every day we're going to get a little bit pastry in a minute the sustenance we need to make the correct decisions during the right gear for the rig

BikeRadar · 148.9K views

We figured with the timings that we'd hit the big mountain pass maybe I know midnight one o'clock in the morning and obviously pitch black and we wanted to actually see the views at that altitude just because we've never been that high

BikeRadar · 148.9K views
How Not to Ride a 300km Gravel Challenge - The Jeroboam 300
BikeRadar · 148.9K views · 18:12
UN PERCORSO PER METTERSI ALLA PROVA: Jeroboam Gravel Franciacorta
Gravellata · 11.8K views · 9:51
RACER

Racer Reviews

Raced Jeroboam? Be the first to rate it.
[07]

Training

September 26, 2026 JEROBOAM
RIDERS REPORT
42mm 650b tires worked but would benefit from pumping out a bit more pressure for the massive cobble descents
[08]

Train for Jeroboam

RACE DEMAND PROFILE

Durability
8
Climbing
10
VO2 Power
7
Threshold
5
Technical
10
Heat
6
Altitude
6
Race Specificity
10
FREE

GET THE JEROBOAM PREP KIT

12-week training timeline, race-day checklists, packing list, and personalized fueling calculator — unlocked instantly.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

[10]

Tire Picks

38mmMIXED
1
Specialized Pathfinder Pro
38mm · $55 · 32W
Fast center, grippy edges. The modern all-rounder benchmark.
2
Panaracer GravelKing SK
40mm · $65 · 32W
Affordable all-rounder. Light knobs add grip without killing speed.
3
Vittoria Terreno Mix
40mm · $80 · 34W
Graphene versatility. Mixed-terrain grip with reasonable rolling speed.
FRONT/REAR SPLIT Vittoria Terreno Dry 40mm / Specialized Pathfinder Pro 38mmFaster front for reduced rolling resistance on straights, grippier rear for traction on loose climbs and corners
FULL TIRE GUIDE & PRESSURE TABLE
NEWS

Latest Coverage

[—]

Similar Races

T1 Gravel Earth Series Global (HQ: Girona, Spain) · 208 mi · 86/100 T1 Dirty Reiver Kielder, Northumberland, England · 124 mi · 83/100 T1 Gran Fondo Nove Colli Cesenatico, Emilia-Romagna, Italy · 127 mi · 89/100 T1 The Traka 200 Girona, Catalonia, Spain · 126 mi · 91/100 T2 Dartmoor Legend Ultra Sportive Exeter Racecourse, Kennford, Exeter, Devon, EX6 7XS, England · 200 mi · 79/100 T2 Hærvejsløbet — The Viking Gran Fondo Flensburg, Germany to Viborg, Denmark · 186 mi · 77/100
[—]

Frequently Asked Questions

Northern Italian autumn brings variable conditions that caught Paul Errington off guard: 'Not more than a few pedal turns later the rain started, then it got heavier, then it turned to hail. Our small group rode up on to the pavement and sheltered in a doorway. 0.5km into our 300km adventure and already we were soaked.'[11]

Milan-area airports provide access to Erbusco, Lombardy with free camping at the event village. However, Jack Luke notes 'Little goes to plan in Italy' and organizers 'give 3T a little leeway regarding some of the amusing chaos we experienced during the ride.' Wine country accommodation runs $100-600/night in Italy's premier Franciacorta sparkling wine region.[1]

Absolute bucket list material. Mandatory night riding through alpine passes, watching sunrise after 20+ hours of suffering, circumnavigating Lake Iseo, passing through legendary Franciacorta vineyards. The wine bottle naming, 3T heritage, and 'world's toughest gravel' reputation create an unforgettable experience.[1]

Legendary status as 'world's toughest gravel ride' backed by 3T's Gerard Vroomen. Jack Luke received an invite noting organizers 'quite openly admitted that they expected to have few finishers' on terrain that was 'unrideable in places.' However, European focus and no UCI affiliation limits global recognition outside dedicated ultra circles.[11]

Show up undertrained and the Lombard Prealps will humble you by kilometer 30. The 4pm start means you're grinding technical singletrack in the dark with dead legs, so your bike handling better be dialed. This isn't a gravel race—it's a 24-hour suffer fest through vineyards that thinks it's the Giro.

[11]

Sources & Citations

Research sources used to build this race profile. Always verify details with official race sources before making travel or registration decisions.

  1. Route Maps RideWithGPS: Jeroboam Franciacorta 300 - Official 2023ridewithgps.com/routes/44742357
  2. Other Sources 3T3t.bike/blogs/news/two-jeroboams-japan-and-italy
  3. Other Sources Enen.365mountainbike.it/news/Jeroboam-Gravel-Series-2026-re...
  4. Other Sources Enen.3bikes.fr/fr/2026/01/30/le-jeroboam-gravel-series-2026...
  5. Other Sources Offoff.road.cc/content/feature/riding-and-surviving-the-jero...
  6. Other Sources Roadroad.cc/offroad/content/feature/riding-and-surviving-the-...
  7. Other Sources Unicorncyclingunicorncycling.com/en/join-my-first-gravel-event-jeroboam...
  8. Other Sources Welovemountainswelovemountains.net/the-jeroboam/
  9. Media & Press BikeRadarwww.bikeradar.com/features/routes-and-rides/5-things-we-l...
  10. Media & Press BikeRadarwww.bikeradar.com/features/the-jeroboam-gravel-challenge-...
  11. Media & Press Gravel Cyclistwww.gravelcyclist.com/race-reports/ride-report-jeroboam-3...
  12. Other Sources Jakubbarcikwww.jakubbarcik.com/ride-logs/jeroboam-300-2024
  13. Other Sources Rawcyclingmagwww.rawcyclingmag.com/jeroboam-franciacorta-2021-with-3t/
  14. Other Sources Winespectatorwww.winespectator.com/articles/how-did-jeroboam-wine-bott...

Last updated September 2026