This is Prosecco country and Lachy would love to spray the crowd with bubbly from the top step of the podium. First, he is exploring the local countryside and enjoying the Italian atmosphere. Most of his previous trips to Italy have been for road races and, while he has great memories of races like the Giro and Il Lombardia, he never had as much time to go out and see the places he was visiting.

“At a race like the Giro, you get to see so much of the country, but you're on fast forward,” Lachlan says. “You get to see a bunch of different places through the lens of racing, but it is a whirlwind. The Giro was the most complete version of what I had imagined and what I had hoped pro racing would be when I was younger with incredibly passionate fans, from the roadside all the way through to the little hotels you're staying in. It was that romantic ideal you had of being a professional bike rider when you were a kid. The whole country got behind it and really cared about it and was passionate about it. It is a memory that I'll always hold for sure, but it is a very different experience to have some time now, coming in for a one-day event, and making some time to enjoy the place we're at. We get to go and check out town, eat some nice meals, and soak it all in a little more. When you have the opportunity to do it that way, it's definitely nicer.” 

The passion that Italians put into everything they do is what Lachlan likes most about the country. He always enjoys Italian hospitality and attention to detail and is trying to immerse himself in their culture even more this time.

“You can go into any establishment, whether it be a roadside cafeteria where they're making espresso or a small bakery or a restaurant or pizzeria or whatever it is. It could be small or big. You could be the only people in there or it could be packed, but people are excited and proud of what they do,” Lachlan says. “They're into what they do. They are not just going through the motions like it is just a job. I think that heightens all of those small experiences that you have, whether you're on a ride and you stop at the little cafeteria and stand at the bar and drink an espresso, there is care that goes into that whole process, even though you're only paying a euro for a coffee. The person making it cares.”

Lachlan has the same feeling about the Hills Gravel race course. His friend Mattia de Marchi designed the parcours with the same level of consideration that a master vintner would put into their best wine. Sixteen hills, across 165 kilometers of flowing dirt road and singletrack, will define the race. The best riders will fizz to the top.

“I knew the course would be really cool, because Mattia enjoys riding a bike in a similar way to how I do,” Lachlan says. “These are his home stomping grounds. He knows all the cool little cut throughs and the sick climbs and fun descents. These hills where they grow all the Prosecco are a beautiful backdrop. It is fairytale cycling in a way. I would say that my approach hasn't really changed the whole time I've done this kind of racing. The racing element is probably more intense than it was when I started, but I don't mind it. The appeal is not the competition itself. It's just the whole setting, the people who are putting the race on, the location. The appeal is just to go fast around this kind of course.”

On Saturday, when Lachlan’s heart is racing towards 200 beats per minute and adrenaline is coursing through his veins, he’ll experience the beauty of The Hills in more vivid detail. Speed heightens his experience. That is what he loves most about racing.

“As an athlete, I am increasingly aware that there's a timeline on these experiences,” Lachlan says. “For me, when I pin a number on, I am just trying to be aware of what I'm doing and where I am while I'm doing it. That is a real priority for me this year. Enjoying being in the race and that intensity of racing in a beautiful place that you are lucky to be able to travel to, that's what I hope to be aware of while I'm racing. It is not an easy thing to achieve. But that's the mindset I hope to be able to carry through the race. And if I'm able to do that, while still putting everything out there, that would be a success. At the same time, it's a race. We’re here to race.”

On Saturday, Lachy will go toe to toe with some of his best cycling friends. He is coming off a bout of sickness, which he picked up after his trip to Colombia for Transcordilleras, so he is unsure of his form. His game plan is just to go hard out of the gate, lock in, and see what he has got. He wants to race with the same commitment to doing things well that he has found in Italy.

“I am going to give it a red hot go,” Lachy says. “I would have loved to have had a smoother run in. These last two or three weeks, I have spent more time off the bike than I have in the last few years. That just is what it is. Once we start racing and we're into it, I'll give it my best crack to be up there near the front for as long as I can. Once you're in a race and you're a bike racer, you have the instinct to get the most out of yourself, whatever that is. I'll be giving it my all for sure.”