Having ticked off 5 new passes from the “100 Greatest” – or so I hope – during the Dolomites Bike Days, I am aiming for more back in Bormio.
The “Italian Alps” part of the list consists of 37 climbs, and within reasonable distance of Bormio I should be able to pocket another 4, possibly 5.
Together with the 14 I’ve done from the Dolomites list, I will have completed 25 of the 100 😅
These are the 5, together with the 5 already done:
| Passo San Marco (#28) | |
| Passo del Vivione (#29) | |
| Passo di Croce Domini (#30) | |
| Plan di Montecampione (#31) | |
| Monte Padrio (#32) | |
| Passo del Mortirolo (#33) | 1:21:15 |
| Passo di Gavia (#34) | 1:58:27 |
| Passo del Foscagno (#35) | 1:09:01 |
| Bormio 2000 (#36) | 50:46 |
| Passo dello Stelvio (#37) | 2:40:02 |
The 11th climb on the (completed) list is the Finestre (#10) and I cycled that during my Tour de France 2017, stage 4.
(I also cycled #14, the Fauniera, but from Demonte, not Pradleves)
Having choked on the Mortirolo numerous times since my Giro of 2011 (stage 6) I think I will save myself the trouble of trying to get a PR.
My other climbing times have been some 20 minutes longer, but including much needed breaks, the total time increased to 2:10-ish…
A PR on the Foscagno is possible, but I’ll only cycle that if Volkan wants to get up there, or if I need a short stage.
Cycling the loop including the Forcola di Livigno and down the Bernina again (stage 8) is not in the cards.
My best time on the Gavia from Ponte di Legno was set during stage 2 of 2020’s Giro.
In 2011’s Giro stage 10a, my time was 1:37, but I “missed” the proper starting point – for this list – by 200 meters or so…
During 2015’s stage 9, notably climbing both ends consecutively, the Bormio end first, my time was 1:45, but I again started in the wrong spot.
In my defense, I wasn’t aware of these “100 Greatest” lists at the time and I doubt they even existed in 2011.
If I decide to get up (to) Bormio 2000, I will try to get a PR – 1st spot (38:35) is not within my capabilities, but I’ll set my target to 43:40 for 3rd.
My Stelvio – from Prato – PR was also set during a stage of the 2015 Giro d’Italia (stage 11) which, like the Gavia stage, included both ends, starting in Bormio.
The excuse for the rather pathetic time being that I was hanging by a thread at the end of a hard Giro and it was scorching hot. Even my moving time was 2:21…
I can have a shot at a new PR on the return from Pozzo di Fassa, but as I have Val Martello planned first, I might not be able to do better.
Which also goes for another double with grasshopper Volkan, if he’s up to it, but I will probably not be up to it either 😂
In 2008, I definitely did a lot better and the 1:44 it took me back then would put me in the hot seat for the 100 list.
Then again, anything faster than 2:05 would, but being 17 years older doesn’t help a lot – I’d be happy with 10th spot, requiring a time of 2:27…
From the other 5, Monte Padrio is closest to Bormio, starting near Tirano – I can make a loop with either the Mortirolo (via Recta Contador), Trivigno from Aprica, or the Gavia from Ponte di Legno, which would give me the opportunity to try setting a PR on that.
To get the Passo San Marco on the list, I will need a long car transfer to Morbegno, which, at 80 kilometers will probably be 2 hours.
The other 3 will require at least one other long car transfer, past Edolo.
Depending on how I tackle them that also means some 1.5 – 2 hours in the car.
The profiles: Vivione, Croce Domini and Montecampione – not easy climbs for sure.
Going for all three in one stage is one hell of a ride.
The most logical option is to start with Montecampione, followed by Croce Domini and then Vivione.
However, this would mean a stage of 160 kilometers and 5,000 meters of D+
I could cut out 40 kilometers by getting in the car between climbs, which would only mean some 500 meters of D+ less, though.
Still, 60 kilometers of climbing with 4,500 meters of D+ is likely to knock me out anyway…
