B - Stelvio Pass - Santa Maria - Prato - Stelvio Pass - B

PASSO DELLO STELVIO

Bormio, Italy

The Passo dello Stelvio is a col with a length of 20.8 kilometers. This is a highest category (HC) col. It is located in Bormio, Lombardy, Italy. The average gradient of this col is 7.3% with a maximum of 9.3%. The Passo dello Stelvio ascends from 1,234 meters at the start to 2,758 meters at the top, with a total of 1,524 ascending meters.

In 1822, the construction of a road linking Val Venosta with Milan was started. Barely three years later, the road was completed. The summit of this Stilfserjoch, as the Stelvio Pass is called by German speakers, is located at an altitude of 2,758 meters exactly on the border of the Italian province of Sondrio and the German-speaking South Tyrol. In total, the Stelvio was featured 10 times in the Giro d'Italia. In 1953, the Stelvio was included for the first time in the course of the Giro d'Italia. On top is a monument in honour of the Italian Fausto Coppi, who at the time was the first to pass the summit.

PASSO DELLO STELVIO

Prato allo Stelvio, Italy

The Passo dello Stelvio is a col with a length of 24.5 kilometers. This is a highest category (HC) col. It is located in Prato allo Stelvio, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. The average gradient of this col is 7.5% with a maximum of 9.5%. The Passo dello Stelvio ascends from 934 meters at the start to 2,758 meters at the top, with a total of 1,824 ascending meters.

For many riders, the highest Italian pass is probably the most beautiful and the most famous. The 48 turns from Prato allo Stelvio make this pass a top priority on every to-do list. The Giro d'Italia is a big fan of this col with a lot of visits. Fausto Coppi made a great impression in 1953 on the flanks. Coppi was the first to cross the top in a Grand Tour. Fausto Coppi thought he ‘was going to die’ while climbing the Passo dello Stelvio during the 1953 Giro d’Italia; the man the Italians dubbed ‘campionissimo’ could have perished in worse places. In a battle between Coppi and Koblet for the victory of the Giro 1953, Coppi attacked on the Stelvio. Partway up to the Stelvio, Coppi saw his lover Giulia Locatelli, who would come to be known as “the woman in white,” because of the coat she was photographed wearing. Eventually, Coppi won his fifth Giro. After Binda, he was the second cyclist ever to win the Giro five times. To date, only one more cyclist has managed to achieve this: Eddy Merckx.


Ivan Basso (2 times winner of the Giro d'Italia): Every cyclist should do the Stelvio at least once. “No matter how long it takes you, and how much you may struggle, once you’ve done it you’ll feel immensely proud and satisfied. It’s the best feeling of all and you’ll remember it forever.”