Colle di Money

Overview

Colle di Money is a hors catégorie (HC) climb — the hardest classification there is — and the numbers explain why. Over 10.2 km it averages a brutal 12.48% gradient, dragging you from a start elevation of 682 m to a 1951 m summit. That is a net elevation gain of 1269 m, with 1243 m of total ascent packed into just over ten kilometres. This is not a climb of long, rolling drags; it is a sustained wall. An average gradient in the low teens is exceptional, and it means there is nowhere on Colle di Money to genuinely recover. You commit at the bottom and you keep committing until the top.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The defining trait here is consistency of difficulty rather than a single sting. A 12.48% average across 10.2 km leaves almost no room for flat or downhill sections to hide easier terrain, so the whole ascent sits well into double-digit percentages. The 24.43% maximum gradient is where it turns savage — nearly twice the average — signalling a ramp steep enough to stall momentum entirely if you arrive on the wrong gear or the wrong effort. Because the net gain (1269 m) slightly exceeds the total ascent figure (1243 m), you can expect the road to keep pointing relentlessly upward with minimal respite. Read every steepening as a place to have already shifted down, not a place to react.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this steep and this long, pacing is everything. Sitting near your FTP from the base will cook you before the summit — the 12.48% average means gravity, not the clock, sets your pace, and the 24.43% ramp will spike your power far above threshold whether you like it or not. Aim to ride the sustained sections comfortably below FTP so you have headroom to absorb the steepest pitches without going anaerobic. If you do not know your threshold number, work it out first with the FTP estimator and build your target around it. Over 10.2 km of climbing, a discipline of restraint early buys you the ability to actually reach the 1951 m summit still turning the pedals.

Gearing

Gear for survival, not for pride. With a 12.48% average and a 24.43% maximum, most riders will want the widest range they can fit. A compact chainring paired with a wide-range cassette is the baseline: a 34×32 is the minimum I would suggest, and even then the steepest ramps will feel punishing. If your legs or bike allow it, go one step easier still with a 34×34, which gives you a genuinely climbing-friendly ratio for the sections nudging toward that 24.43% wall. On 1269 m of net climbing, the marginal weight of a bigger cassette is irrelevant next to the cadence it preserves.

Summary

Colle di Money is an uncompromising HC test: sustained, steep, and long enough that the average gradient alone earns it respect before the 24.43% maximum even arrives. Pace conservatively, gear generously, and let the summit come to you.

Length 10.2 km
Average gradient 12.48%
Max gradient 24.43%
Start 682 m
Summit 1951 m
Net gain 1269 m
Total ascent 1243 m
Category HC