Iconic climb
Universally understood; the experience lies in riding it, not explaining it
Located on te border between Trentino-Alto Adige and Sondrio, within the Ortler Alps, the Stelvio is an important link between Valtellina and Val Venosta.
With a summit at 2,758 metres, the Stelvio is the second‑highest paved mountain pass in Europe, after the Col de l’Iseran. A few dead‑end roads climb higher, but most are not realistically rideable on a road bike.
For what it’s worth, I do not count the artificial loop around the Bonette (the Cime); that’s more like a frill and not a pass.
World-renowned views
You see the pictures of the mighty Stelvio on the Internet and you instantly feel the urge to get on your bicycle.
Especially the pictures from the Prato side of the climb are renowned. However, also the – similar – pictures from the Bormio end are jaw-dropping.
Giro d’Italia
The Stelvio Pass has featured in the Giro d’Italia 13 times since its debut in 1953, most recently in 2020. Eight ascents were from the Alto Adige side and five from Valtellina, with four summit finishes.
Whenever the Stelvio has appeared since the introduction of the Cima Coppi classification in 1965, it has been the highest point of the race.
Including the Stelvio in the Giro always carries logistical risk. In late May or early June, alpine weather can quickly turn hostile, increasing the chance of rerouting or outright cancellation. This uncertainty explains why both the Stelvio and the Gavia are used far less frequently than their status might suggest.
Granfondos & Events
The Stelvio is also unusually rich in organized cycling events, ranging from granfondos to car‑free days:
- Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini
- Stelvio for Life (charity event)
- Re Stelvio Mapei
- Stelvio Night: the pass is lit for cyclists
- Stelvio Bike Day.
You may find more on the “Enjoy Stelvio Valtellina” site – as dates vary per year, so does the landing page for them.
I’ve cycled two Mapei Days myself—once in 2011 on my birthday, and again in 2025—both under similar foggy and wet circumstances.
Season and weather notes
The Stelvio is a high‑risk pass in seasonal terms, and planning matters more here than on most Alpine climbs. Due to its altitude, the road is closed through winter and only opens once snow clearance is complete, in late May or early June.
Early‑season riding is a gamble and at any given day, the weather may turn ugly within minutes without warning.
What makes the Stelvio particularly deceptive is the contrast between valley and summit. I have personally experienced 30+ degrees in the valley on either side and close to zero degrees at the summit, where it may even snow any given day, including July and August.
Another factor is exposure to wind and weather once you clear the tree line. From that point on, there is very little shelter. Cold descents become uncomfortable — or outright dangerous — if you’re not prepared with extra layers and good judgement, as I have experienced first-hand during my Mapei Day in 2011.
Stelvio Pass from Prato
Starting from Prato, the Stelvio Pass has a length of roughly 25 km and an elevation gain of just under 1,850 meters.
⚠️ Be advised that there is now a mandatory bike path between Prato and Stilfser Brücke – this will probably be extended to Trafoi.
Shortly before Trafoi you find the first 2 hairpins – these are just after the gallery between Gomagoi and Trafoi. There are 48 hairpins in total from this end – the next 2 you encounter when leaving Trafoi, at Hotel Bellavista.
After that, the route is changing between slightly winding sections and more challenging bits with hairpins, pretty much until hairpin 32.
Starting in hairpin 24, you finally get to look at the view of the remaining hairpins, winding up (far) above you. From there, until you reach the summit of the Stelvio Pass, you are rewarded with the ever more breathtaking views downwards, for which the Stelvio is known so well.
At the usually very crowded summit, you are met with the smell of bratwurst – Bruno’s hot dog and “wurstel” trolley is the first thing you encounter. If you want to have some good food, ride on to Albergo Genziana, just past the biggest array of souvenir shops I have encountered on any summit.
Bonus: Solda
The underrated Ortler escape
If the Stelvio from Prato is the big show, then Solda (1,924m) is the side road that quietly steals it.
You roll out of Prato on the same tarmac as the Stelvio. Same valley, same anticipation, same warming-up grind. For the first kilometres it’s identical — a steady false-flat drag that already tells your legs what kind of day it is.
Then, just before things get serious, in Gomagoi, the script changes: left turn.
You turn into the Suldental and the tone shifts quickly. The next kilometres bite hard, holding double-digit gradients for long enough to make you question your gearing choices.
This is where Solda earns its respect: not with headline numbers, but with inconsistency. It never lets you fully relax.
The road winds deeper into the valley, climbing through forest before opening up dramatically. Suddenly the Ortler (3,905 m) appears — and it’s not subtle. It dominates everything, turning the ride into something that feels far bigger than the stats suggest.
After the hardest section, the gradient eases. A couple of rolling kilometres give you time to look around — which you absolutely should.
This is Stelvio without the circus. No crowds chasing 48 hairpins. No bucket-list madness. Just you, a smaller road, and the Ortler massif looming ahead.
Ride to the back of the village and you’ll get the full reward: glacier views, the Königsspitze towering above, and that satisfying sense you’ve escaped something bigger nearby.
Bike Rebel Ascents
In 2008, I climbed up the Stelvio Pass from this end for the first time, in 2015 I had a round trip up both ends consecutively. In 2020, I ended up on its summit three times, once from Prato, and in 2025 I started the ascent with Volkan, but I had to give up some 10 kilometers in…
Both in 2008 and in 2015, I got on the bike at the Hotel Gasthof Stern in Prato, in 2020, I started a little further out and took the fork to Solda / Sulden first.
This is my climb up to Solda from Prato, i.e. the first half of my 2020 stage:
Stelvio Pass From Bormio
On paper, the ascent of the Stelvio Pass from the south may look less challenging than the one from the north side at just over 21 kilometers long with 1,500 meters of D+.
Despite its lower ranking, the grades are almost equal to the Prato end, and the final can be demanding if the biting cold wind happens to be a strong head wind.
Just like the Prato end, from Bormio you can look forward to a beautiful climb, with 40 numbered hairpins. The first one is just outside Bormio, where the “BORMIO m 1225” sign is on the wall.
Passing Bagni di Bormio, you turn away from Bormio and when you’re some 6 kilometers and a couple more hairpins in, you reach the series of short tunnels. Some of them were pitch dark but they are now (well) lit, albeit narrow.
❗️Be careful when passing through these on your way down, as they have some nasty turns inside and they are usually wet.
After you pass these tunnels, this end of the Stelvio Pass will throw some short, stinging, sections of 14, 15% at you. However, you also have a stunning view on the most beautiful part of the climb, the series of 14 hairpins – 28 to 15 – snaking up along the rocks above you.
As you climb these, the views on the part below you are similar to the ones found in the top half of the Prato ascend.
Approaching the split with the Umbrail, the grades go up to 10% again, but after that, it gets really tough when that becomes 12, 13, 14%.
This last part of the climb seems to go on forever and if you do get a (cold) headwind there, you’ll be extremely happy once you finally reach the summit.
At least Bruno’s bratwurst smell is not welcoming you here…
This end is – besides for the Stelvio Bike Day – the scene of the Re Stelvio-Mapei Day.
Bike Rebel Ascents
I’ve done the Bormio end five times: during my Giro of 2011 / the Mapei Days of 2011 and 2025, and Stelvio revisited stages in 2015 and in 2020.
Also in 2025, I cycled this end with Volkan, but I called it a day at the Umbrail summit.
