We leave Fonni and ride north toward the largest town of central Sardinia and one of the administrative capitals: Nuoro. The first 50km have a descending trend and despite two climbs, you lose about 1000m of elevation.

From there we begin the first of the two main climbs of the day: 12 kilometres to Orune, and later a an amazing climb along the - extraordinarily white - Molte Albo mountain range. Many of the peaks of that famous limestone bastion are over a thousand metres high; evergreen Mediterranean scrub is all around. After a long descent, you'll find the valley of the Torpè lake and nowadays a natural park oasis: almost eight thousand hectares of unspoilt forests, trails, springs, rivers and ‘dunes’ in the territory of Bitti, Lodè, Posada.

Posada is another historical village that features a nice old town and one of Sardinia’s best preserved medieval fortresses - Castello della Fava - that rises up from the village and is rife with ancient mysteries and legends. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? That's why Posada is also the place where we've arranged for your accommodation in a three-star hotel.

What we like best - as cyclists - are those days on the bike where you get surprised by dramatic changes of setting. Today is one of these days! Leaving Orroli, the first 60km are on easy rolling hills, as soon as we cross the SS131 - the main Sardinian highway - we meet a long, totally flat section, crossing the cultivated feilds of the central western Sardinia. Riding through Guspini signals we are once again entering a mountainous region. This is the ancient mining region of southwest Sardinia: an area exploited for diverse minerals from the time of the Phoenicians until the 1970s, and thus neglected by tourism. Since the closure of the mines, nature has worked to reclaim much of this land.  Mass tourism didn't develop here due to the lack infrastructure and... well, you just need to wait and see the amazing outcome of this historical process. From Guspini on, we cycle through one of the wildest areas on the island and end the ride at an awesome beach in Portixeddu. Today you'll again sleep by the sea, at a three-star hotel in Portixeddu.

129.5km | 1,618m | 1,706m | 6h

If someone were to ask me one road to include in a dream cycle tour, I would struggle between the west coast road that cuts through the old mining region between Fluminimaggiore and Nebida, and the long southerly stretch that goes from Porto Teulada to the awesome sandy beaches of Chia. Rather than choose I have combined them to create the last stage of the Ultimate Sardinia.

You will start and finish the day riding these remarkable undulating coastal roads. The middle of the section is easy on flat roads or rolling terrain. It's hard to describe what you'll see without piling up adjectives, and to do so does this stage a disservice. We truly believe this stage should be on every cyclists bucket list. This series of up and downs will bring you past beaches, cliffs and coves with the stunning turquoise sea as your constant companion.

The trip ends in Pula, where the last hotel is! Dinner will be a great occasion to do something that often happens at the end of our trips: arguing about which stage was the best. You will find that this can be just as strenuous as the queen stage of the tour.