Cycling Bergamo - Episode 04 - Passo San Marco

The Passo San Marco represents the highest peak reachable in the Bergamo area with a road bike.

For all of us, this climb represents a challenge to be faced at least once a year.

It's a long, exhausting ascent, especially hot during the summer; sudden rains are frequent, and the suitable period to tackle it is limited to the months when the road is not covered in snow.

Starting from the 1980s, the valley depopulated, but in the last decade, it has been undergoing a promising revival.The Valle Brembana has been experiencing a second youth in recent years.

Many young people are returning to settle here, creating new businesses related to the territory and sustainable farming, rediscovering old animal breeds and traditional dairy products.

The first, undoubtedly, dates back to the early 20th century when the renowned San Pellegrino was a tourist destination for "pleasure," with casinos, spas, and Grand Hotels that attracted numerous visitors.

Today, the town is much quieter and hosts passing travelers. We can't fail to mention Bigio, which has been a hotel and famous pastry shop since 1932, known for its biscuits.

Gasp's passion revolves around cooking, music, and cycling, filling his free time.

The dishes he creates are made with selected ingredients, with Italian flavors that have Asian nuances. The cooking techniques used don't excessively alter the foods but rather enhance their taste, allowing them to be fully appreciated, perhaps accompanied by a bottle of wine during an Italian summer evening.

This is the ideal starting point for bike rides.

The Diamante represents Basso's flagship model. After over 22 years since its first version and 8 evolutions that have continually improved it, this model now boasts the lightest frame in the range.

In addition to designing the frame, Basso has created the Levita integrated fork and stem. Elegance and the pursuit of lightness are the guiding principles of this project, which we can say has been fully successful.

You easily fall in love with this Diamante; when you ride it and start pushing, it feels like everything is easier, faster, you don't need to get used to it, even in challenging situations, it's all natural and immediate.

The size 53 frame weighs only 760 grams.

It's a monocoque built with Toray 40T and 30T carbon, the Levita stem in the 110mm size weighs 330 grams. This way, it's really easy - and not very costly economically - to achieve a complete bike under 6.8 kg.

The three available colors make it difficult for anyone to choose: they are all too beautiful to pick just one. The frame is compatible with both mechanical and electronic groups.

As always, Cicli Corsa offers the possibility to customize every detail of the complete bike assembly. Currently, we still have some frames and complete bikes available.

At the moment, it's about two months from the order placement.

However, the waiting time for sizes not immediately available has been reduced; at the moment