Cycling through beauty. Stories about cycling, art and the Romagnolo Apennines. It all began in the spring of 1971, when members of the cycling club “Fausto Coppi" organised the first edition: the start is from the historical Bar del Corso in Cesenatico, it was five o’clock in the morning and there were seventeen contestants.

The race today has more than ten thousand participants every year, with enthusiasts from around the world that participate "Only for Passion". The latest editions are also dedicated to the the late Cesenatico cyclist Marco Pantani.

Nine hours in the saddle, nine different stages and a total of 202 kilometres made of fatigue and smiles: the slopes reach an 18 percent gradient and an altitude difference of up to 3,840 meters. There is also a shorter route of 130 kilometres.

Amongst the memorable stages was the year 1996 when, for the first time, the participants exceeded ten thousand (no electronic chips existed, so the the checks were hand stamped on a race sheet); The fortieth edition in 2010 (twelve thousand participants) and the Giro d'Italia that now honours the Nine Hills Race by using it in the final part of the route; In 2015, twelve thousand contestants signed up for the race in four minutes via online bookings.

This itinerary is a sign the passion of cyclists who, beyond the sports side, choose these routes for cycling through nature, art and are inevitably enchantment by the area.