Colle della Mologna Piccola

Colle della Mologna Piccola cycling climb profile

Colle della Mologna Piccola is a category 2 climb in Italy that asks a different question than a short, steep pass. At 33.3 km, it is long enough that the main difficulty is not just the gradient in front of you, but the cost of every small overreach before the summit.

The headline average of 3.2% can make the climb look manageable on paper. That is only partly true. The road rises from 252 m to 1318 m, gaining 1066 m of elevation, so this is still a full mountain effort. With total ascent listed at 1064 m, the profile reads as a largely continuous upward drag rather than a climb broken up by meaningful recovery descents.

How the gradient rides

The available profile data does not split the climb into lower, middle, and upper sectors, so the safest reading is to treat Colle della Mologna Piccola as a long endurance climb with uneven pressure rather than a steady tempo ramp. The 3.2% average tells you there will be plenty of moderate climbing, but the 14.72% maximum gradient changes the tactical picture.

That gap between average and maximum is the important detail. A climb can average 3.2% and still punish riders who gear or pace as if it is just a rolling approach road. The steepest ramps are sharp enough to push cadence down, force torque up, and turn a comfortable aerobic effort into repeated spikes above threshold if you are not disciplined.

Pacing and gearing notes

The best strategy is to start below the effort the average gradient seems to invite. On a 33.3 km climb, the cost of riding the early slopes too hard compounds quickly. Keep the first part controlled, especially if using power, and let the length do the work before committing to harder efforts near the top. If you track intensity, anchor the main portion around sustainable climbing power rather than chasing speed. See /glossary/ftp for how that threshold reference should guide pacing.

Gearing should be chosen for the 14.72% maximum, not the 3.2% average. You need an easy enough climbing gear to stay seated and keep cadence from collapsing on the steepest sections. If the setup is too tall, the climb becomes a repeated strength effort, which is a poor trade over this distance.

The practical read: Colle della Mologna Piccola is not brutally steep from start to finish, but it is long, accumulative, and capable of punishing casual pacing. Ride it like a sustained mountain climb with steep interruptions, not like a gentle 3.2% drag.