Umbrail

Giro d’Italia 2020 Report

stelvio-stage-9So, 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.

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Giro d’Italia 2020 Plans

Contrary to my past ‘Grand Tours’, I’m not going to write a road book for my Giro d’Italia 2020.

Every time I put a lot of effort in it and while I usually manage to generally follow the stages I had in mind, I frequently have to change plans anyway.

This can be for any number of reasons, my advancing age probably not being the least important.

But, I’ve also suffered from a cyclist nodule and intense, hernia induced or incident related (back) pains.

Plus, the weather can be a force to reckon with and not seldom have I been cycling in near freezing conditions or ice cold rain one day, only to have my brain blown out because of the heat the next.

And while I have new climbs to discover during this Giro, I am already quite familiar with the area(s) and most of its climbs.

So, I can leave it that and you can stop reading if you’re no longer interested, but I’m writing down a few (loose) ideas anyway…

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Umbrail Pass


At 2,501 meters it earns a top 10 spot in the list of highest paved passes in Europe and it is the highest paved pass in Switzerland.

The Umbrail was a side-trip into Switzerland during the Giro of 2011 and the start of my Giro of 2020.

I started the climb in bad weather during my Tour de Suisse 2019 too, but found it was blocked by a landslide some 5 or 6 kilometers in.

The Umbrail from Bormio is actually (all about) the Stelvio, so short of visiting the summit sign, I’ve done that four times 🙂

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Giro d’Italia 2011 – Recap

At the end of 2010, the first ideas for a trip to the Italian Alps arose. Since his “storming” of the Stelvio in 2008, Cyclopaat wanted to go back for more.

He went on a – rigorous – diet, became a little bit overconfident while planning the stages of the trip, but eventually had his first “Grand Tour”, a Giro d’Italia of his own making…

So, here’s a short recap with some stats of his Giro.

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Giro d’Italia 2011 – Stage 9

Umbrail

(And a bit of Fuorn)

GPS of today's rideUmbrail info page

The weather will continue to be ‘rainy’ for the remainder of this vacation.

Perhaps with the exception of tomorrow, when it’s expected to stay (at least) dry. C. will use that day to climb the Stelvio from Bormio and the Gavia from Ponte di Legno.

Sunday there is the ‘Mapei Day’ which means the Stelvio will be closed to motorized traffic and there will be all sorts of sporting events (roller blading, running, cycling).

Would be nice, but the weather looks really bad for that day.

Today, he took on the Umbrail Pass and used the Fuorn (Ofenpas) as a warm up – he caught some rain, but nothing like yesterday…

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