Spin up the rear tyre and head north to Siena for lunch in its famed Piazza del Campo.
Don't get lost in the maze of steep, intersecting streets – you'll have to make up time and miss the Chiantigiana, a route through the most charming Tuscan countryside. Break into Emilia-Romagna on day two. The tight and twisty roads of north-west Italy will bring you to Turin and the beginning of the SP23R – the Sestriere Pass. Attack the switchbacks of the D106 under the watchful eyes of austere Vercors cliffs, and pass through sleepy villages to reach Magny-Cours.
