Cyclopaat, an alter ego with a twist
I was thinking to get up the Bernina today, but as that would mean transferring to Tirano again, I changed my mind.
I decided to save the Stelvio for (probably) Wednesday, but the Gavia starts almost at my doorstep too.
So, I planned a trip over the Gavia, going down to Edolo after that to climb to Aprica from the other side.
But once down in Ponte di Legno, I changed my mind again…
As it seemed yesterday’s extra / half rest day had done me well, I was hoping to complete a slightly more challenging stage today.
Keeping in mind the restrictions on distance and knowing that sustained climbing efforts of over 11% were most likely not possible, I looked at the Mortirolo from its “easy” side, Edolo / Monno…
After all, with all due respect, the profile from that end doesn’t look half as scary as the one from Mazzo or Grosio.
So, since I stated that the climb from Mazzo “did not hurt as much as expected” in 2011 – probably because I did the Zoncolan shortly before it – I was hopeful that I would be able to make it.
Today I was going to find out if there were going to be more stages in this year’s Giro.
The intensive treatment had done me good, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to cycle, let alone climb a mountain.
I planned a first stage from Bormio that was not too difficult – I did that when still at home, thinking I would need a “recovery” after the previous stage from Corvara to Bormio.
It involved the climb up to Bormio 2000 and I had the option to include the Torri di Fraele (Cancano) or not – I would know after Le Motte, a stinging climb of around 3 kilometers…
One last stage from Corvara, so where to go? I didn’t want a long day in the saddle, or a long transfer to start or from finish, so that didn’t leave me with a lot of options.
Although I did not seriously consider going up Plan de Corones / Kronplatz, I did head for Longega for the Furcia. I got on the bike near Piccolino, where the thought of the climb up the Würzjoch a few days before made me cringe…
In Longega I headed towards San Vigilio (di Marebbe), where I took a wrong turn – I recognized the mistake in time and headed back to Marebbe, to pick up the right path.
In 2011, I climbed the Pinei from Ponte Gardena and noticed a “split” near Castelrotto to the Alpe di Siusi.
Back then, I continued the route through Castelrotto, but for this year’s Giro, I looked up that climb which was not originally in the road book and I constructed a stage to it.
Leaving Corvara, I first climbed the Gardena from our front door, descended the 30+ kilometers to Ponte Gardena – with a stop for some more shopping in Selva – and then went up the same road as 4 years ago, when it was my warming up / prologue.
Strangely, I did not remember the bit with stretches of 11% before reaching Castelrotto and that wore me out more than I would have liked.
