We sat down with Niccoló Varanini: anesthesiologist, ultracyclist, and creator – or better, as he likes to call himself – “artistic director” of Marmöl Gravel.
If you don’t yet know what Marmöl Gravel is, here’s the short version: it’s a non‑competitive cycling event that takes place in the Marmo Botticino district and along the Via del Marmo, in the province of Brescia. It’s not a race, but rather a self‑supported individual ride with a “partenza alla francese”. 3T has been a proud sponsor since the very first edition in 2021.
No rankings, no sprinting for KOMs, no attacks to reach the finish line before anyone else.
More than a bike ride with friends, Marmöl Gravel is a celebration of cycling itself: beautiful landscapes, music, shared moments, and a genuine sense of togetherness. We chatted with Niccolò Varanini, the event’s creator and route designer, but above all – as he jokingly says – its “artistic director”.
Niccolò, let’s start broad: what does the bicycle mean to you?
For me, the bike is first and foremost a means of transportation. During high school and later at university, I started using it to move around the city. That was the era of the fixed‑gear boom, and from there my passion for bikes grew in every direction: commuting, then working in a community workshop, and eventually using the bike in a more athletic way – especially for exploring and traveling.
In 2015 I found myself on the start line of the Transcontinental Race without even fully knowing what I was getting into. As a kid I played loads of sports – hockey, mini volleyball, track and field, a bit of everything – but cycling was my first real sporting passion, the one I chose for myself.
You’re an anesthesiologist. Is there anything in common between your profession, your role as an organizer, and being an ultracyclist?
Medicine and ultra‑cycling both require strong organizational skills and time management. Thanks to cycling, I’ve become very methodical in planning training, work, and time with friends and loved ones.
This attention to detail – preparing carefully, thinking ahead – is typical of ultra‑cycling, which is the cycling discipline I’m most passionate about. You spend a lot of time preparing for a race, studying the route, trying to anticipate what might go wrong and how to solve it. Other times you just have to improvise mid‑race.
I find all these elements both in my job as an anesthesiologist and in my role as organizer or route designer. Managing an intubation or a critical patient requires planning but also the ability to find solutions as situations evolve, while staying calm and keeping secondary problems in perspective.
How do you see your role at Marmöl Gravel?
I think of myself a bit as an artistic director. We’re a great group of passionate, enthusiastic people, and my role is mostly about coordination. This is officially our fourth year. You need to be organized and manage your time well because there’s a lot to do, but what I care about most is keeping the spirit of the very first edition alive and unchanged.
What is the vision you’re carrying forward for Marmöl Gravel?
Marmöl Gravel was born as a different way of seeing cycling, far from the usual rhetoric of suffering and much more focused on conviviality – being together, listening to music, having a bit of a party.
Marmöl Gravel is the synthesis of this idea of cycling, mine and that of the whole organizing crew. We always offer two routes: one easier, one more demanding. And at the end, there’s always a big party where everyone hangs out together, eats, and dances thanks to a DJ who keeps the vibe high.
So what exactly is Marmöl Gravel?
At the beginning it was an event among friends, a special bike party for bike lovers. Now it has grown a lot – we reach about 600 participants – and inevitably there are people I only know because their name appears on the medical certificate needed for registration.
Even when I don’t know someone personally, there’s still a strong sense of affinity, and many keep coming back even though the route and the format remain similar year after year. Maybe they come back because of that – because a real community has formed around Marmöl Gravel, not only among us organizers but also among those who ride with us.
What’s the message you care most about sharing with those who ride in the Botticino quarries?
Without any big ambitions or the need to preach, simply through the type of event and atmosphere we try to create, the message is this – especially in today’s gravel scene, where everything seems tied to performance: gravel is much more than competition.
It’s fun, first of all.
There’s a risk that gravel riding could lose the spirit it started with. I’ve often asked myself whether introducing a competitive component to Marmöl Gravel would be a necessary step – even just timed segments or a parallel competitive category. In the end, my answer is no. I want to preserve the idea that our event is, above all, a party.
I want it to express the real reasons I ride a bike: sharing, friendship, fun, music, celebration. Without pretending that every gravel event should be like ours, of course.
How is your relationship with the local territory?
We started quietly, with an almost clandestine zero‑edition four years ago. We have a great relationship with the quarry district – many small landowners who support us and allow us to pass through their properties, and over time we’ve built a very solid connection.
The Botticino quarries – the second largest marble extraction area in Italy after Carrara – are first of all a community of people, not just a beautiful landscape. In this sense, Marmöl Gravel has put down roots locally, and the municipalities help us with permits and support the project in many ways.
What’s the future of gravel?
Gravel is an activity anyone can enjoy, and that’s probably the key to its success. Each rider can experience the bicycle in nature however they prefer: adventure, racing, classic Sunday loops, climbs, flat roads – everything.
With a gravel bike you can go on asphalt and off‑road, overcoming the limitations of a mountain bike or a road bike. Maybe the future of gravel – and of MARMöL too – lies exactly here: versatility, and the total freedom to do whatever you like.
Together with friends, of course.
The 2026 edition of Marmöl Gravel will take place on March 22 and is already sold out. Our suggestion is to save the date for 2027. And if you’re around Brescia in two weeks, consider joining at least the final party. It’s worth it — you won’t regret it.
Go to marmolgravel.cc
Copy by Emilio Previtali