Day One
We took a red-eye flight from Boston that landed us in Venice in the morning of the next day. There were small transfer busses that took us to our hotel in Treviso, about 40km away. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told that our rooms were not ready, and that we could wait anywhere on the beautiful grounds, and they would find us. We made our way out to the rear of the hotel, grabbed a cold Moretti on draft, and admired the grounds. There was a manmade lake, palm trees, gorgeous gardens, and the sound of children swimming in the lake. It was a nice "welcome to Italy" way to start the first day.
However, before I had finished my beer, the desk clerk came to tell us that we were at the wrong hotel, and a bus was waiting for us outside. Down goes the beer, back into the bus, and off we go. That hotel was one of the several satellite hotels. We were booked at the event host hotel.
This was the first thing that I saw when I walked through the door. Right in the lobby. A gold painted Dogma F (UWT class race bike) with purple accents. Purple would be part of the theme of the event. Real gold is also part of the paint. I don't know how they make that work, but it sure was a sight to see. It took my breath away.
Around the corner was another show bike, a Dogma F in chrome and gold paint.
As I was settling into my room, there was a knock on the door. A beautiful young Italian lady had a swag bag for me. Inside was the itinerary of the event, and some products provided by the event sponsors. My clothing sizes were requested before the event, and this is why.
I was told to save room in my suitcase. I did not try any of the AMACX food products during the event, as I typically don't put anything new into my stomach while riding unless I have tested it first. It's what I always did when racing, and there was no reason to change that now.
All of the clothing fit well. I would ride that kit in the supported ride.
After some rest, the bus picked us up to go to the first event, the unveiling of the Dogma X (their endurance race bike) that was announced earlier in the day. It was held at an art museum in the center of town. Out front was one of the spare Pinarello/Q36.5 UCI team cars that was not being used in the Tour de France. The leader of this team is Tom Pidcock.
As we walked in the door, the bikes were all lined up with a smoke machine blasting away.
The major changes to the 2027 model are the use of Toray M40X carbon, the same that is used in the Dogma F race bike, and the redesigned rear triangle. It was designed for both stiffness and comfort.
Bikes were displayed throughout the museum. A DJ was creating music. There was a huge variety of appetizers on tables, as well as being passed. The place had minimal air conditioning, which was stressed to the max, so it was several hours of drinking beer, eating great food, and sweating non-stop. I only took a picture of one appetizer, truffle ravioli in spicy vodka sauce.
We ended up back at the hotel after midnight. I got a couple of hours of restless sleep before the next day.