RSS feed for this section

Archive | Climbs

Passo delle Erbe from Val di Funes

Passo delle Erbe

Note: The Passo delle Erbe description was originally written in collaboration with the inrng.com blog.   The Dolomites are part of the Italian Alps and offer plenty of great cycling routes that are rich in race history. This month the site is sponsored by travel company Holimites and speaking to them about the best places […]

Passo Giau from Colle Santa Lucia

Monster Giau, Mighty Giau, Killer Giau, etc., etc. Whichever adjective you want to use, one thing is sure: you need to ride it at least once if you’re in the Dolomites. The numbers say it all: 9.8 km climbing with an average grade of 9.4%. But let’s start with a bit of interesting history. The […]

Passo Sella from the Pordoi crossroads

Passo Sella

If you are riding the Sella from Canazei, then read the first part of the description about the Passo Pordoi from Canazei first (read here). Passo Sella actually begins 5.5 km after Canazei on the Pordoi climb. The description of Passo Sella in this article is based on riding the Sellaronda clockwise. So, the first tip I […]

Passo Pordoi from Arabba

33 hairpins on the Pordoi from Arabba

We already wrote about the “Great Dolomites Road” in the section about the Pordoi climb from Canazei (read here). On the Arabba side, the engineer just did the same great job – a climb with an average grade that never goes above 7%. If you look at the elevation profile in the chart above, it’s just a straight […]

Passo Campolongo from Corvara

Campolongo descent towards Arabba

Campolongo, Campagnolo, Campolongo, Campagnolo, Campagnolongo …. confused enough? Of course, these 2 names have nothing in common. The name of the pass is simply Campolongo. The Campolongo is perhaps considered by most cyclists as an Ugly Duckling compared to all the other climbs around. It’s one of the lowest climbs in the Dolomites with an altitude […]

Plan de Corones from Furcia

This is one of those climbs that you should do when you don’t have any other rides left to do, or if you just really want to weep and fight against gravity before putting your feet on the ground on the steepest parts of the climb. Yes, this climb is going to be brutal and even though I wrote that you should ride […]

Passo Falzarego (and Valparola) from Andraz

Passo Falzarego hairpins

The Falzarego is the perfect climb for people like me who are considered ‘passistas‘. So, what is a ‘passista‘? Actually, one of the best italian  passistas was Francesco Moser, a quality time trialist and a great spring classics specialist. Then, how can a climb be good for this kind of cyclist? Well, Passo Falzarego has a beautiful, easy […]

Passo Sella from the Passo Gardena crossroads

If you plan to ride Passo Sella from Val Gardena, then the first part up to Plan de Gralba is mentioned in the Passo Gardena description. As you climb Passo Sella, ‘His Majesty’ the Sassolungo / Langkofel will be watching your efforts all the way to the top. You’ll see it transforming. At the beginning, it simply looks like one […]

Passo Gardena from Selva

Passo Gardena from Selva ©PatitucciPhoto

Looking at the numbers, Passo Gardena from the side of Selva di Val Gardena seems pretty easy. Well, it isn’t hard for sure, but if you’re approaching the Passo Gardena after a long loop – maybe after already climbing the whole Val Gardena or coming from the Passo delle Erbe loop – it may feel […]

Passo Campolongo from Arabba

Finally! A short climb in the Dolomites, right? Well, don’t declare victory so soon because this portion of Passo Campolongo should be climbed when you already have some km in your legs, and – trust me – you’ll be feeling the 7% average gradient! Another characteristic of Passo Campolongo is the wind. It’s rare to ride it without […]

Passo Valparola from La Villa

The Passo Valparola is the nearest climb that starts from my home…and it is the one that I ride less. Maybe it’s because of its length or because I’m just not able to warm up enough to ride it at a regular pace in the 3km that separates my doorstep to the start of the climb. Some […]

Passo Gardena from Corvara

Passo Gardena during Sellaronda Bikeday

The Passo Gardena is the main connecting road between the ladin valleys of Val Badia and Val Gardena, and as the main road, it is also one of the busiest passes of the Dolomites. In the morning you may encounter commuters driving to work, and herds of tourists or motorbikes on a ride throughout the day. Having said this […]

Passo Furcia from Longega/San Vigilio

The word “Furcia” in the Ladin language means pitchfork! Usually, riding uphill should take you to heaven but, in this case, to get there you’ll need to go through hell! So, you may really see the devil with a pitchfork on the steepest part of the climb! Passo Furcia starts from the town of Al Plan de Mareo (Ladin) but to […]

Passo Furcia from Valdaora

Passo Furcia is one of those climbs that you will ride once and then wait a long time before riding it again. Both sides of the Furcia are damn hard, with double-digit gradients where it’s really hard to find a nice cycling pace up to the top. The climb starts in Valdaora with an easy climb […]

Passo Pordoi from Canazei

These beautiful mountains have remained a mythological world of fairy tales for centuries because you can only cross them on rough mountain trails and by going through inhospitable valleys, where city folk have never set foot. ~Theodor Christomannos Behind a road there is always someone with an idea – in this case, a huge idea because Mr. Christomannos’ project was to connect the city of […]

Passo Fedaia from Caprile

A long time ago, in the local province road planning offices there was a road engineer that needed to resolve a tough problem: to design a road that connected Canazei in the Fassa Valley to Caprile on the other side, with a climb in the middle located at the feet of the Marmolada glacier. He had to avoid dangerous […]