Colle del Pino

Overview

Colle del Pino is a long, category 2 ascent that trades brute-force steepness for patience. Over 20.8 km it climbs from a start elevation of 358 m to a summit of 1152 m, a net gain of 794 m. The average gradient is a gentle-sounding 3.81%, but that headline number hides a lot: with a maximum pitch of 24.85%, the mildness is an average, not a promise. This is a climb you settle into and manage, rather than one you attack from the base.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The defining feature of Colle del Pino is the gap between its average and its maximum. At 3.81% the mean gradient sits firmly in tempo territory, the kind of slope you can ride seated in a big gear on fresh legs. But the 24.85% max is over six times that average, which tells you the road is uneven — long shallow stretches broken by short, savage kicks.

That contrast is what makes a 20.8 km effort tricky. The total ascent of 803 m is only 9 m more than the 794 m net gain, so there is almost no descending or false-flat give-back along the way. Nearly every metre you climb, you keep. The steepest 24.85% ramp is 21.04 percentage points above the average, so when it arrives it will feel disproportionately brutal against everything around it. Expect to spin comfortably for long stretches, then suddenly find yourself out of the saddle grinding through a wall.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this long, discipline matters more than raw power. Because the 3.81% average lets you ride at a controlled, sustainable output for most of the 20.8 km, the smart approach is to hold a steady effort just below threshold and save your matches for the steep ramps.

Anchor that steady effort to your FTP. Riding the shallow sections at roughly 75–85% of FTP leaves headroom to surge over the 24.85% pitches without blowing up, then recover once the road eases. If you don't know your number, run the FTP estimator before you go so your pacing targets are real rather than guesses. Over a 794 m gain, going out too hard on the easy lower gradients is the classic error — the wall punishes anyone who arrives already in the red.

Gearing

The average gradient invites you to under-gear, and the maximum gradient punishes you for it. A 24.85% ramp near the end of a 20.8 km climb, on tired legs, demands a bail-out gear. A 34×32 is the sensible baseline for most riders here, giving enough range to keep cadence up on the steep kicks without grinding to a walk. If your climbing legs aren't your strongest, or you want to protect your knees over 803 m of total ascent, size up to a 34×34. That extra cog is cheap insurance against the 24.85% moments, and on a climb defined by one enormous max pitch, it is worth carrying.

Summary

Colle del Pino rewards the patient: a long, mostly moderate 20.8 km category 2 climb with a single ferocious sting. Pace it steady, gear it generously, and respect the 24.85% wall.

Length: 20.8 km
Average gradient: 3.81%
Max gradient: 24.85%
Start: 358 m
Summit: 1152 m
Net gain: 794 m
Total ascent: 803 m
Category: 2