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Cycling the Colle Della Fauniera

  • Colle del Fauniera Cycle Route

    Image: vista sul Colle Fauniera lato Castelmagno – Ezio Donadio

The Colle Fauniera is a mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, Piedmont, northern Italy, located at 2,480+ m elevation. It’s one of the roughest of road surfaces, but still one of the greatest of Italian road cycling climbs, having a statue of the legendary Marco Pantani at the summit.

We set this as an all day  cycling route in the Italian mountains, with a long climb and an epic descent. The route starts in the beautiful Italian town of Caraglio.

As this cycling route is close to the Italian French border, you can fly into Nice and stay in the city and take in some great cycling, before crossing the border into Italy and taking on this awesome Italian road cycling route, one of the great Italian passes. If you choose, you can book a few nights accommodation at nearby Cuneo, or at Caraglio itself, which whilst more limited,is a beautiful place to stay.  Either way, you’ll have a brilliant day cycling in the Italian mountains and have tackled one the greatest road  cycling climbs in the world.

Every keen road cyclist should visit this amazing country, because road cycling the Italian Passes is a trip of a lifetime, and the Colle Fauniera road cycling route should be on every cyclists tick list.

Climbing the Colle della Fauniera Cycling Route

This Italian road cycling classic route starts in the beautiful  mountain town of Caraglio, where the Giro d’Italia also started the route, before heading into the mountains on the narros and steep winding roads.  It’s a long climb of some 35km to the summit, but there are a few lovely villages on the way, and an awesome descent afterwards.

It’s a tough day, so be prepared and take lots of water, gels and food, and a long sleeved jacket for if it turns cold. Please take care on the descent and don’t try to be a Strava hero.

Distance and Ascent: 88km and 2221 metres of ascent

Refreshments: Cafe possibilities on the way at villages. Demonte has lots of suitable refreshment options once you get back down. Caraglio has a few great lttle places to eat and drink at too.

Route

1. This route heads out from the small mountain town of Caraglio. Take the SP23 road that climbs into the mountains towards Pradleves, which is reached at 12km.

2. Once through Pradleves the road begins to steepen and becomes quite narrow, so care should be taken regarding other traffic. Make sure that if riding in a group,you do not take over the width of the road.

3. At 14km the road becomes the SP112 and climbs steeply towards the village of Castelmagno at 20km, twisting and turning as you continue climbing, now on the SP333.

4. At 23.5km pass through Chiotti Sant’Anna then Chiappi, eventually reacing a small junction at 33km. This is the Colle D’Esischie and a climb for another day. Stay ahead for the Colle Del Fauniera, which is reached 1km later and which opens up beautiful mounatin views beside the statue to Italy’s great cycling hero – Marco Pantani.

5. Take care descending on the narrow road, as the surface is not always ideal. Descend through scenic villages, as you head down the valley towards the main highway at Demonte 58km. Now turn left onto the SS21 towards Castelletto. At 76km turn left on the SS23 towards Cervasca, now on flat and easy roads that lead you back to Caraglio and good Italian food.

Click below for GPX files

Colle del Fauniera


Route Cue Card


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]]> Stelvio Pass Cycle Route https://pedalnorth.com/stelvio-pass-cycle-route/ Sat, 23 Nov 2019 18:34:05 +0000 http://pedalnorth.com/?p=10088

Cycling the Stelvio Pass

There are some road cycling routes that are simply iconic. You only need to see an image of this amazing road to understand why the Stelvio Pass is one such Italian road cycling legend.This mountain pass on the border between Italy and Switzerland rises to an elevation of 2757m and twists and turns like no other Italian cycle route, as it works its way up the steep mountain scenery.

We’ve started this cycling route in the town of Bormio, which is an excellent base for a few days cycling in the Italian mountains. The route can be ridden in a different ways; either dropping down the Passo Umbrail to Santa Maria and climbing back up the iconic switchbacks of the Stelvio, or dropping down the Stelvio once climbed from Bormio, with a final ascent of the little known but impressive Passo Umbrail. Whichever you choose, it’s a tough day on the bike, which can be shortened by driving to a different start point in order to cut down on the miles. Either way, you’ll have a brilliant day cycling in the Italian mountains and have tackled one the greatest road  cycling climbs in the world.

Every keen road cyclist should visit this amazing country, because road cycling the Italian Passes is a trip of a lifetime, and the Stelvio Pass road cycling route should be on every cyclists tick list.

Climbing the Stelvio on both sides

This Italian road cycling classic route starts in the beautiful  mountain town of Bormio and climbs the Stelvio Pass, then dropping down the Umbrail Pass to Switzerland, before ascending the Stelvio again via the iconic hairpin switchbacks.

Distance and Ascent: 100km and 4256 metres of ascent

Refreshments: Cafe possible at 12km and a selection of cafes available at the summit.

Route

  1. Starting from the mountain town of Bormio follow the Strada del Passo dello Stelvio and start climbing immediately. The road climbs at an average of around 7% with switchbacks starting off at around 8km, where the tunnels of the Alps start to take you through the mountains at around 9km.Take lights and be well lit in the tunnels.
  2. At the junction where the road switchbacks right and starts to head into the higher mountains, stay on this and keep climbing.
    At 14km the real switchbacks begin and the epic day takes on it’s legendary leg busting personality. Keep focused and slowly grind it out until 18km when you see a collection of old buildings to your left with a road leading off signed to ‘Santa Maria’.
  3. Take this road, the Passo Umbrail which drops through amazing alpine scenery to Switzerland for 14km, crossing roaring streams on stone bridges before you hit the tree line again and swoop around bends to the base.
  4. At Santa Maria turn right onto the SS41 towards Muster.
    The road descends for some time and a chuch tower can be seen ahead just before Glurns. A sign on the right just before Glurns indicates to turn right towards ‘Passo Stelvio’-take this right hand road.
  5. It’s a more relaxed ride now to the village of Prato Allo Stelvio where you may want refreshments before the final epic ascent of a 25km climb.
    Turn right and simply ride as the road steepens and winds it’s way up towards the iconic hairpins.
  6. Tree lined switchbacks begin in earnest after 65km and these rise steeply, eventually opening up to expansive mountain views.
  7. After 25km of relentless climbing the summit is reached and some well deserved hospitality at the village. Rest a while before enjoying the descent back to Bormio, taking care on the precarious hairpins that still lie ahead.

Note: An easier alternative is to drive up from Bormio and park on the Stelvio summit, descending the Umbrail and riding up from Prato. This route is a mere 62km 😉

Distance and Ascent: 100km and 4194 metres of ascent

Refreshments: Cafe possible at 12km and a selection of cafes available at the summit.

Route

  1. Starting from the mountain town of Bormio follow the Strada del Passo dello Stelvio and start climbing immediately. The road climbs at an average of around 7% with switchbacks starting off at around 8km, where the tunnels of the Alps start to take you through the mountains at around 9km.Take lights and be welllit in the tunnels.
  2. At the junction where the road switchbacks right and starts to head into the higher mountains, stay on this and keep climbing.
  3. At 14km the real switchbacks begin and the epic day takes on it’s legendary leg busting personality. Keep focused and slowly grind it out and after 20km of pain you can relax and enjoy the view. At this point you can decide whether or not to descend the Umbrail Pass and climb back via the iconic side of the Stelvio, or take the slightly easier option and finish your days climbing on the Umbrail.
  4. Descend the famous hairpins of cycling photos carefully, descending for 20km to the mountain hamlet of Prato Allo Stevio in the South Tyrol.
  5. In the village turn left sharply onto the SP50 signed to Glorenza and Gurns 7km. Follow this steadily and enjoy a slight break from climbing steeply.
  6. At the juction turn left onto the SS41 signed to Schweiz 9km and the climbing begins again.
  7. At the small village of Santa Maria (67km point), briefly enjoy Swiss hospitality before you take the road on the left, Sassabignhel, which leads to Via Umbrail and the Umbrail Pass, a 14km epic and isolated road climb which has 2km of the middle section on gravel … yes gravel!
  8. Finally you reach Umbrail and the road of the Stelvio again.
  9. Enjoy the 19km descent on 40 hairpins back to Bormio.

Click below for GPX files

Stelvio Pass both sides


Stelvio & Umbrail Passes


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