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Italy says its section of 5,900km EuroVelo Mediterranean bike route almost complete

Route from Cadiz to Limassol is one of 14 planned to span the continent

Italy’s state tourism agency, ENIT, says the country has nearly completed its section of EuroVelo 8, a 5,900km cycle route that will link Cadiz in south west Spain to Limassol in Cyprus.

While the route mainly follows the Mediterranean coast as it passes through 11 southern European countries, the section in Italy heads inland to follow the Po valley along the Vento cycle path between Turnin and Venice, reports the Quotidiano Piemontese.

On its way from Spain to Cyprus, the route passes through eight other countries besides Italy. Those are Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Greece, Monaco, Montenegro, and Slovenia.

Cities it passes through include Barcelona, Nice, Turin, Venice, Split, Tirana and Athens.

Italy is home to 900km of the route, and according to the project page on the EuroVelo website is the only country to have so far completed any of the planned itinerary.

Cristiano Radaelli of ENIT said: "Monitoring carried out by our offices abroad  tell us that the choice of a place as a holiday destination by foreign visitors is closely related to the offer of formulas and packages where practicing a sport, as is the case for cycle touring, are among the most popular, particularly where combined with unparalleled tourism resources.”

Co-ordinated by the European Cyclists’ Federation and co-financed by the European Union as part of its sustainable tourism initiative, the EuroVelo network comprises 14 routes criss-crossing the continent.

It is due to be completed by 2020 and the UK hosts sections of four of the routes:

EuroVelo 1 – the Atlantic Coast Route from Nordkap in Norway to Lisbon
EuroVelo 2 – the Capitals Route from Galway to Moscow
EuroVelo 5 – the Via Francigena Romagna from London to Brindisi
EuroVelo 12 – the North Sea Route from the Shetlands to Bergen in Norway.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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sm | 9 years ago
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Thanks mrfree, my first question was going to be road surface quality. Pity as I was mentally booking my trip. Will just have to plot my own route!

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mrfree | 9 years ago
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With the exception of EV 11, from my experience the routes are terrible. The paths are usually poorly surfaced, don't join up together, and often run alongside a quiet and perfectly smooth road.  39 The idea is nice but the reality is you're taking massive detours or riding on terrible surfaces for marginally improved safety.

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