What follows is a sort of blog that Matteo, participant in the Passion 2 Ride - GF Campagnolo, sent us a few days after the event finished.
Matteo wrote this short report during pauses on the P2R, in true journalist style.  We really liked his idea and decided to publish it in this space dedicated to P2R. The words of those who took part are a thousand times more significant than any we could write in our role as marketing men.

Day 1
I leave the motorway at the Belluno junction and follow signs for Nevegal. I’m really excited. For hours I’ve been wondering what Bartoli and Casagrande are really like and who my P2R companions will be. I reach hotel Olivier and am welcomed by Silvia from Campagnolo who hands me my gift pack with a smile on her face – amazing Passion 2 Ride gear and other freebies – plus the keys to my room. She tells me that we’re shortly due to meet up for a welcome aperitif followed by dinner. I’m even more excited now, also because I think I caught a glimpse of Bartoli.
I go down to the lounge area and see my companions. These kind of situations are always embarrassing, but the Campagnolo staff and their enthusiasm make us feel immediately at ease. Bartoli and Casagrande arrive. Smiling and still really fit. They say hi to everyone individually and right away you can see that they are really laidback. Even Francesco, who I thought was a fairly solitary kind of person, proves to be really friendly.
We start with reciprocal introductions followed by a short briefing from Michele and Francesco, who explain what will be happening over the next few days.
Then it’s goodnight everyone and off to bed. This is so incredible, I really can't wait for tomorrow morning!

Day 2
My first official day on the Campagnolo Passion 2 Ride – GF Campagnolo starts at 8 with a big breakfast. Participants are starting to make friends, but I note a certain impatience in their faces: they just can’t wait to get out and pedal. After a final check of the bikes by Campagnolo mechanics, Michele Bartoli and Francesco Casagrande get us all together to explain what we will be doing. It will be an endurance session of 120 km, with Michele and Francesco giving us suggestions on how to best tackle each stage of the route, from position on the saddle to the gear to use, through to how to get the most from every pedal stroke and how to save energy and go faster downhill.
Back at the hotel, we are tired but enthusiastic and dying to talk about this session. A shower to restore our energy, a professional cyclist’s lunch and then a few hours of deserved relaxation in the sun.
In the afternoon Michele and Francesco give us a theory lesson. The champions start by showing us the errors committed during the morning, they explain how to correct them and then give us some general advice from two those who have been cycling for a lifetime. A whole world opens up before us and it’s like a dream come true to finally be able to ask all those questions that nobody had ever managed to answer properly before.
We have dinner in a happy relaxed atmosphere, talking about the day just gone. Afterwards we move into the lounge, where Michele and Francesco start to tell anecdotes from past races that have us all in stitches.
Bedtime for everyone - tomorrow we start again.

Day 3
An enthusiastic start to the second day. I go down to breakfast and find my race companions already in their cycling shoes, champing at the bit.
Michele and Francesco explain that today’s will be a speed session, in other words they will tell us how to maintain a high speed both alone and with the peloton. A few kilometres as a warm-up and then we’re off like rockets. Michele catches up with me with enviable ease and shows me the position I should be in to be able to push strongly while offering the least possible resistance to the air. Then we move on to making the most of the pocket of air behind those in front and staying out of the wind in the pack. I have always been a bit frightened of pedalling in contact with other wheels, but this time I really felt at ease and it was great fun.
After our usual post-lunch pause, today Michele and Francesco again explain everyone’s individual errors – it’s incredible how they manage to immediately see where we are going wrong – and then they show us a few useful tricks for when you are going at top speed.
They then move on to several interesting pieces of advice regarding physical preparation with a view to the Gran Fondo and how to eat correctly before and during the race, to avoid unpleasant hunger attacks.
There’s a great atmosphere at dinner time. In just two days we have become big friends. It’s extraordinary to see how sessions on our bikes have brought us together.
The evening ends with an entertaining diploma ceremony. Michele and Francesco are truly great!
And so to bed. Tomorrow we will go out for a soft session just to get our legs moving and Sunday we will all be at the starting line for the Gran Fondo Campagnolo, with just a few aces tucked up our sleeves.

Matteo