Man of the Lagoon

“The bike for me has always been an instrument of freedom,” explains Davide Libralesso, as we connect to talk about his Sarto and his recent bikepacking adventure that began in Italy and ended in Croatia. “As a kid growing up in a small neighbourhood just outside Venice, the bike opened the door to a world where I got to decide what to do and where to go. It took me to see my girlfriend, to get a little gelato somewhere, play basketball, and do what I wanted, away from my parents and towards figuring out my own identity.”  

Life changes, of course, and the things we did as kids, we leave behind, only to return as adults, wiser and willing to recognise the pull of the past and the realisation that what we lost along the way still stirs the heart. At least, that’s the way it plays out for most people.

Our conversation turns towards Davide’s current bike, which leads us to Sarto and how he became familiar with the brand. “In our area of Italy, it’s pretty common to have small, but very specialist and usually family-run, companies,” he says. “And Sarto is a perfect example. They work with their hands, they’re extremely innovative, and everything they do is made in Italy. Sadly, that combination of attributes in the cycling world is highly unusual.”

Davide talks about his visit to our HQ and his surprise when he realised that the roll of carbon fibre he walked by during his tour was destined to form the tubes for his bike. “I was totally shocked!” he laughs. “And then, when I learned that the fibre came from only 20km away, everything clicked. This was the real deal.”

These days, Davide supplements his miles on the road with regular trips to the trail, choosing our Gravel TA model to cater to the demands of both disciplines. “I love going to the mountains, and I’m lucky to have the Dolomites on my doorstep,” he says. “I often ride some of the toughest sections, such as the Passo di San Pellegrino and the Passo Valles. And even on my Gravel TA, I only lose a couple of minutes compared to my road bike, despite the fact it’s designed primarily for the trail - and it’s got 40mm tires! To me, that’s amazing.” 

Davide calls his rides ‘Mountain Gravel”, explorations that continue beyond the road to the trails that trace lines to the peaks and interconnect with neighbouring passes. “The Gravel TA is the perfect tool for these cross-surface adventures,” he says. “Although, you have to be careful on the descents, as some of the trails are pretty wild!”

And in answer to how the bike feels, Davide revisits why he fell in love with cycling all those years ago. "You don't think about the bike," he says of riding his Gravel TA, "you just enjoy yourself." Having seen Davide's wonderful shots from the trip, I mention to him that his experience with the bike parallels photography, where the right camera allows you to focus on the scene rather than the equipment you're using. "Exactly, "he says. "It allows you to stay in the moment." 

A pleasant few minutes of geeking out on cameras follow before I ask Davide about his recent backpacking trip to Slovenia. “Ah, the lagoon trip!” he exclaims. “My friend Luca and I wanted to link Venice with the coastal town of Poreč in Croatia (‘Parenzo’ in Italian), which used to be a Venetian town in Istria, the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. At one point, there was a railway throughout Istria, which is now a collection of trails. Well, not so much trails - it gets pretty rocky at times - but it is passable by bike.” As Davide explains, the lagoons formed an important and very scenic part of the trip. “I wanted to create a route that went through the middle of the Northern Adriatic lagoons, which is such a peculiar and beautiful natural element of our territory,” he notes. “You can ride on manmade paths with water on your left and right, and it feels magical, especially with the nature and animal life surrounding you.”

Unfortunately, the trip began (and continued) with heavy rain, which reduced Davide’s original group of five riders to two. “I said, come on, we’re not made of sugar!” he laughs. “So my friend Luca and I pushed on. It’s a brotherhood born on the basketball court when we were kids and consolidated during long days on the bike. We have a pretty strong synergy.” With lashing rain, wind and 160km on the clock for the first day, it was a challenging start. Thankfully, Davide had booked some quality lodgings along the route, and for the first night, as for the rest of the trip, they enjoyed the many comforts travelling cyclists need at the end of a long day in the elements. “On the second day, we headed to Trieste and stayed the night in Izola (Slovenia) en route to Croatia. In the morning, we picked up the ‘Parenzana’ trail, which starts paved and gradually degrades to rocky gravel, which brought us, with a little detour, to the hilltop village of Motovun.” A quick internet search reveals that none other than Primoz Roglic once held the Strava KOM for the iconic climb up to Motovun, so there’s no shame if you don’t top the timesheets when you roll over the climbs’ finishing cobbles, especially if your bike is laden with bags.

After Motovun, the rain returned, obscuring the hilly beauty of Istria, and before long, the duo were in Poreč. Naturally, I ask how his bike performed. “Luca and I both had the Gravel TA,” he says. “Both bikes performed wonderfully throughout. No issues, no mechanicals, fast and very comfortable, despite the long, repeated days in sometimes difficult conditions.” 

And on that happy note, I bid Davide goodbye. He’s itching to get out on his bike later today. Let’s hope there’s gelato at the journey’s end.