Then
Milan–Munich: a long-distance ride that made history
The conditions were hard: unpaved roads, bad weather and no modern equipment. The participants — 49 cyclists from several nations in all — wore simple clothing and rode without gears, with nothing but pure muscle power and unbending will. Yet it was precisely this simplicity that made the achievement all the more remarkable. The 1,200 metres of climbing up to the Brenner were an immense test of endurance — and that on bicycles which, though they seem archaic, at the same time bear surprising similarities to modern gravel bikes.
