Giro d'Italia Archives

Sella Ronda Bike Day

This page shows the track of the popular Sella Ronda Bike Day.

It doesn’t really matter where you start and/but course direction can change from year to year, i.e clock- or anti-clockwise.

However, I believe there is no (official) rule stating that you cannot go against the “advised” direction for the official event, but it would be silly to do so.

This loop is also part of the even more popular, but harder to enter, Maratona dles Dolomites. That starts just north of Corvara, in La Villa and includes two ascends of the Campolongo.

Because of those, the course direction of the Sella Ronda part for the Maratona is always clockwise. The counter-clockwise version of the Sella Ronda Bike Day, has the Campolongo as a descend.

It is free to enter the Sella Ronda Bike Day and does not require you to register, the Maratona is neither.

I have completed the counter-clockwise Sella Ronda Bike Day on an official occasion in 2011 and the Maratona dles Dolomites “on my own” in 2020 (Stage 6).

Giro d’Italia 2020 Report

So, how did I fare this Giro d’Italia 2020, compared to what I had in mind beforehand?

Well, I choked on the Mortirolo (from Mazzo) again and – barely – made it up the Bernina, all the way from Tirano.

The difference with last year being, that this did not happen during the same stage and that the Mortirolo was just as hot, but the Bernina was the coldest of all.

But, I kinda, sorta, had my revenge on the Mortirolo, as I was on its summit no less than four times, twice during the same stage.

I also ended up on the Stelvio summit three times, during my prologue and as finishes for stages 7 and 9.

And, I was able to complete the Maratona dles Dolomites, which had been on my to-do/wish list, since I first visited the Dolomites in 2011.

Not surprisingly, that stage (6) also came with the highest elevation difference (D+) of all stages: almost 4,250 meters.

Giro d’Italia 2020

Late 2019, we initially booked a vacation on Tenerife, where I would cycle up and down El Teide and Paula would bake in the sun.

Then Corona/Covid-19 happened and we decided to not take avoidable risks and cancelled that trip.

Paula being who she is, then asked me if I would be in for an alternative, like Italy, maybe the Dolomites…

The occasional visitor of this site will know that I didn’t need a lot of time to think that over.

HELL YEAH!

So, we found a hotel in Ponte di Legno, at the base of…

Drum roll *

…the Gavia.

Giro d’Italia

Whenever the Treasury Secretary gives the green light for another trip into the high mountains, I think ‘Giro d’Italia’.

To be more precise: I first think of the Dolomites in the northeast, nearly equally shared between the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino.

Just looking at the pictures and profiles of the climbs there, does make my heart beat faster.

Obviously, I do not mind wandering off in the Ortler Alps to the west of the Dolomites, if only for the Gavia, Mortirolo and the not any less attractive Bormio end of the Stelvio.

But, as much as I like the area around Bormio, it pales in comparison to that of the Sella group, which may be considered the heart of the Dolomites.

The Col Informer

Cyclopaat’s life being what it is, this is yet another project dedicated to his idiotic cycling the Alps adventures.

On these pages, you will find info on the more ‘famous’ climbs he’s had the pleasure to die on himself.

Most of them were during his “Tour de France” or “Giro d’Italia” expeditions, but after having a Swiss Stage during 2015’s Giro, he also organized a “Tour de Suisse” in 2019.

The info you find on great sites like CyclingCols are often too generic – just profiles, which usually mean jack shit – to give you the whole picture.

The guys at The Col Collective provide great short movies on them, in which it looks even easier to climb a giant like the Bonette, than Cyclopaat can possibly make up writing about it, so they’re added if available.

Anyway, click on a link for the corresponding page or, if you rather have or like pictures you can click instead, go to the interactive map.

Name	Country	Summit
Col de l'Iseran	France	2764
Passo delle Stelvio	Italy	2758
Col Agnel	France	2744
Col de la Bonette	France	2715 2802 (Cime)
Passo Gavia	Italy	2621
Grossglockner	Austria	2571
Col du Galibier	France	2556 2642 (loop)
Umbrail	Switzerland	2501
Colle Fauniera	Italy	2478
Furkapass	Switzerland	2436
Col d'Izoard	France	2360
Passo Giau	Italy	2236
Grimselpass	Switzerland	2164
Col du Tourmalet	France	2115
St. Gotthard	Switzerland	2106
Croix de Fer	France	2068
Passo del Mortirolo	Italy	1852
Alpe d'Huez	France	1840
Monte Zoncolan	Italy	1735