Postcards From The Torino–Nice Rally

Words and Photos by Ray Wood

If iconic climbs and secluded gravel roads are your thing, the Torino–Nice Rally has to be one of the best bikepacking journeys imaginable. From the banks of the Po river to the French Riviera, the route snakes across the mountainous French / Italian border, via legendary Tour de France tarmac, long-forgotten trade routes, and high-altitude WWII military roads.

Since 2016, the route has also played host to the original rally – a mass start self-sufficient ride that sees riders slot into their own pace and rhythms to make their own way in their own time to the Mediterranean. 2022 marked the sixth and so far, its last official edition of the rally, which is where we met the equally iconic Ray Wood. Below Ray shares some of the moments that stick with him a few years down the line with a selection of images he shot along the way.

Imprinted moments are what we carry with us long after the journey is over. They are the vivid stand-out experiences that rise to the surface when we stir up the sediment of memory.

When I look back over the eight days of the Torino-Nice Rally (TNR) there were plenty such moments that came with the simple process of getting from A to B. The falling away of life’s everyday concerns, each day unaware of what lay ahead.

For me a linear route always holds a greater attraction than a loop. Arriving back where you started never feels quite as satisfying.

The night of day four on the Torino-Nice route, following the western edge of the Alps to the Mediterranean, somewhere along the old military route of Strada die Cannoni (road of the Cannons) I stopped for the night.

At over 2000 metres along the ridge between the Valle Maira and Varaita Valley, the temperature quickly fell as it got dark and the wind picked up. Cocooned in my bivvy bag I felt exposed and vulnerable, watching the impressive lightning storm across the way, trying to figure out which way it was heading and most importantly if it was coming towards me. Alone, my mind envisaged the worst.

Then the cow bells I’d heard earlier in the pastures below seemed to be getting closer. If I wasn’t going to be struck by lightning, then I was convinced I’d be stood on by an inquisitive cow. Paranoia was rife as I stared into the darkness looking for a bovine outline. My previous experience with cows on a Pembrokeshire clifftop as they curiously prodded my camera bag with their hooves didn’t help.

Looking back at it now, it all feels slightly ridiculous, but I won’t be forgetting it in a hurry. As is so often the case, the world was transformed by the rising sun. In stark contrast, the next night was spent in great company without a care in the world.

Cresting the ridge at the Passo della Gardetta, the 400-metre height gain hike-a-bike to get there was more than rewarded by the remarkable vista of the altiplano known as ‘Little Peru’ in the warm evening light.

Plus, it was only a short flowing descent to the Gardetta Rifugio (2335m)—a renovated former military shelter used in World War II. Plenty of other riders who had also set off from Turin were already warming themselves by the stove and ordering carafes of wine.

The nature of the Torino-Nice Rally, informal by its very nature – beyond setting a date for the start and definitely not a race – is that you’ll meet plenty of other cyclists with whom to share the experience.

The next day was as good as gravel riding riding gets. Finding myself with a group from Bristol we camped at the Col de Tende among extensive fortifications built in the late 19th century by the Italians to protect them from French incursions. This was also the start of one of the other must-do sections of the route — the Via del Sale.

Paying a Euro to a man in a booth we got a ticket to ride a part of this old trading route and climbed up in the clearing mist and cool morning air with the fort soon in the distance. Up on the ridge it was a roller coaster, all of it rideable on a gravel bike with care. At times the stony white ribbon snaked back on itself with steep drops on either side.

Descending in a cloud of dust the landscape softened once more and the Rifugio Don Barbera was the perfect lunch stop and place to reflect on the ride. It wouldn’t be quite all downhill to the sea from here.

The Original Rally

Starting as a self-sufficient group ride in 2016, the Torino-Nice Rally follows a route devised the previous year by James Olsen. With various options built into the route concerning differing terrain, you can expect to cover between 600 and 700km and somewhere in the range of 15-20,000m elevation gain.

Traditionally beginning with a mass start on the first Friday of September each year, it’s also hosted two editions of the komoot Women’s Rally. Set up to benefit the Smart Shelter Foundation in Nepal with money from route cards and patches going towards the charity, recent insurance issues however has meant there hasn’t been an official start since the 6th TNR in 2022.

Fingers crossed for the return of what could just be the best bikepacking event in Europe!