Passo Cattivo

Overview

Passo Cattivo is a hors catégorie climb that earns its top billing the hard way. Over 14.9 km the road lifts you from 519 m at the base to a 1864 m summit, a net gain of 1345 m. The average gradient reads 9.05%, and that number alone tells you most of what you need to know: there is almost nowhere to hide. On a climb this long, a 9.05% average means the easy metres are rare and the punishing ones are constant. Add a max pitch of 22.45% and you have a climb that punishes riders who arrive without a plan.

How the Gradient Unfolds

Do not let the single average figure fool you into pacing evenly. A 9.05% mean across 14.9 km hides a wide spread — sections well into the mid-teens are effectively guaranteed when the steepest ramp bites at 22.45%. The shape of Passo Cattivo is relentless rather than explosive: the gradient rarely relaxes enough to recover, so the steep pitches stack onto legs that are already loaded. With 1326 m of total ascent against 1345 m of net gain, there is virtually no descending or false-flat relief inside the climb — nearly every metre gained is a metre climbed and kept. Expect the hardest ramps to feel disproportionately savage precisely because they arrive with no rest before them.

Pacing Notes

The only way to survive 14.9 km at 9.05% is to ride within yourself early. Anchor your effort to your FTP: on a climb this sustained, most riders should sit just below threshold for the shallower stretches and accept short surges above it only when the 22.45% pitches force the issue. Blowing up on a climb with 1345 m of vertical gain means a long, ugly grind to the 1864 m summit. If you are unsure of your threshold number, run it through the FTP estimator before you commit to a pacing plan — guessing here is expensive. Meter the first third conservatively; the steepest ramps late in the climb will find anyone who over-cooked the opening.

Gearing

Gear for the average, then gear again for the max. A climb averaging 9.05% with a 22.45% wall demands the low end most riders reserve for their worst days. A 34×32 is the sensible floor here, and even strong climbers will be glad of it across 14.9 km. If your knees or your power-to-weight suggest any doubt, fit a 34×34 — the extra range keeps your cadence alive on the steepest pitches and protects your legs across the full 1345 m of climbing. Spinning a slightly easier gear over this distance almost always beats muscling a hard one and paying for it before the summit.

Summary

Passo Cattivo is a genuine HC test: long, steep, and unforgiving from base to top. Respect the 9.05% average, gear for the 22.45% max, and pace off your threshold, and you give yourself a fighting chance at the 1864 m summit.

Length: 14.9 km
Average gradient: 9.05%
Max gradient: 22.45%
Start: 519 m
Summit: 1864 m
Net gain: 1345 m
Total ascent: 1326 m
Category: HC