Back to tour by bike: the Portuguese who created "the best ride of the planet

Eat, drink and ride. Is this the motto of InGamba Tours agency, created by the Portuguese João Correia, a former professional cyclist who has even earned the distinction of having the best bike ride in the world according to the international magazine "Bicycling". Between laps Italy, Correia also brings tourists to pedal for Portugal.
Every year, around the time of spring, former professional cyclist John Correia travels to Tuscany, Italy, to be the guide of a group of amateur cyclists on bike rides that have strenuous climbs and technical descents.

Only here, it never forgetting sport tourism, forget, and well, the diets. The agency InGamba, created by João Correia, 38, is dedicated to taking tourists to ride but also to show the landscapes and give the other to prove sights characteristics of the region: the food and wine. Between each back foot, no meals that can take three hours and evidence of various wines by the 5th of the Tuscan region, famous for its Chianti.

In the year that Correia raced professionally for the elite team of Cervelo, most training camps were held in this region. "The idea was born in InGamba bike back in 2010 when I realized that what I wanted was to have a connection to the area where I was living," he explains. It was "a place that was very fond." "There, everything was simple," says.

"I wanted to have a place where he could ride on roads without looking magnificent power numbers [one of the training methods commonly used in cycling]. He liked to eat at my favorite restaurants and the homes of my best friends without looking at the scale. And wanted to drink the wines they liked more by the bottle and not just a cup, "says Correia.

Each destination InGamba resembles a Tour de France - proves that kicks off on June 29 and can be followed in PUBLIC - the little ones, but it should be noted, the bikes used are top notch and even have a massage therapist and a mechanic Portuguese available. Every day, morning, diners take to the streets to pedal between 60 and 120km by the charms of Tuscany.

However, these bike rides are just to whet your appetite. During that time, eight days Correia shows to stakeholders their favorite places. After cycling steps, the Portuguese organizes lunches and dinners at a local restaurant / site visits as the fifth wine Castello di Ama, where you can taste a classic chianti, red wine from the Tuscany region. So the bike rides are carefree and the food, drink and culture is a serious one. "It is to share with people something that usually can not find: find a site with a person who knows the corners," he says.

The first trip InGamba arose from a challenge by former professional cyclist, which is a major user of social networks. The Portuguese launched a challenge to followers on Twitter to follow him to Italy, where he would walk Bike of the morning and afternoon have time to explore the area. The first time, in 2011, four people lined up, in the spring of that year, the number doubled. From 2012, the InGamba now has several trips where even includes a tour of the Chianti region devoted entirely to women, to be held in May.