Valle d'Aosta

Day: 3
Route: Santhia - Quart (nr Aosta)
Distance: 62 miles
Height: 4082ft ascent
Time in saddle: 4hrs 50mins

We started the day with a little trepidation: our longest day yet, with a decent amount of ascent up the Valle d'Aosta. An enforced late start because of breakfast time didn't help either, but we were on our way as quickly as possible. Having enjoyed the tiny country roads so much yesterday afternoon we tried to employ the same tactic, only to be thwarted when we found a road closed and some admittedly friendly locals pointing us back towards the main road. So with some distance to cover we decided to knuckle down and churn through some miles on the big road, with a few games to help the time pass.
It didn't feel like long before we were in Ivrea, our appointed mid morning stop, where we enjoyed a granita and a coffee cream thing (more like a dessert than a coffee) in a lovely piazza:

The morning continued to fly by, with the gentle gradient up the valley bottom only slowing progress marginally. A quick picnic stop allowed us to push on, although by this stage the temperature had hit 30 again and whilst the tail wind was aiding our speed, we were both wishing for a bit of a breeze. The gradient kicked-up significantly, with our first category 1 climb (based on the arbitrary Rose scale) made significantly worse by the searing heat of the suntrap we found ourselves in.
We did eventually make it to the top, and after a quick gelato stop (for those who can eat gelato), we were on the last stint to our rest spot for the night, finishing in our quickest time yet.
The positioning of our hotel tonight is at the other end of the spectrum from last night's farmhouse in the country (we can see the autostrada toll booth from our window!) but inside it feels like a little haven. Fingers crossed that even though it's a Monday (traditionally closing day), we can find somewhere to refuel nearby, as we're certainly going to need it for tomorrow's epic mountain stage!