The harder they come

On the longest day of the year, Chase the Sun Italia sets out to ride 275km coast-to-coast, traversing the golden valleys of Emilia-Romagna and rolling vineyards of Tuscany before delivering riders to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It sounds almost romantic. Doesn't it?

- JAMES SPENDER

The same waiter who served us last night looks at me through dead black eyes, him up at 4am to serve breakfast, me just about awake enough to eat it. I give him a buongiorno to indicate I am no threat – with mini cereals and individual yogurts already laid out, I shall ask nothing of this man but coffee. He smiles like a sad tiger prawn in a bow tie.

Outside the sun is yet to rise and it will be many hours before Cesenatico’s beaches fill with glossy bodies rotating on sun loungers. For here is a town a bit like an Italian Blackpool – the same level of chintz, only with fewer arcades and more 14th century harbours, and with the proud boast of being Marco Pantani’s hometown. A fine place to start a coast-to-coast bike ride, then.

I join my fellow riders gathered along the harbour wall and we watch as the Earth’s inexorable spin turns the horizon from navy to orange. Seagulls have begun to circle overhead, perhaps attracted by an early fishing boat that’s putt-putting down the harbour canal. I take these last few moments to go back over my kit.

My top tube bag is stuffed with the three essential food groups for long-distance cycling: peanuts, bread and peanuts. Meanwhile my bar bag contains sun cream, energy bars and a back-up bottle of water. Europe is suffering a serious heatwave and today will not be the day I get peeled off the road like a dehydrated strawberry. In my jersey is the all-important brevet card, which is to be stamped at each of the three checkpoints.