Passo della Colomba

Overview

Passo della Colomba is a Category 1 climb that asks a genuine, sustained effort from the moment the road tips up. Over 16.6 km it lifts you from a start elevation of just 28 m to a summit at 1169 m — a net elevation gain of 1141 m and a total ascent of 1130 m once the small undulations are counted. The headline average gradient is 6.88%, which is stiff enough on its own, but the number that defines the climb is the 26.12% maximum. This is not a metronomic ascent; it is a climb of long steady stretches punctuated by ramps that force you out of the saddle whether you planned to stand or not.

How the Gradient Unfolds

A 6.88% average across 16.6 km would, if perfectly even, feel like an honest tempo climb. Colomba is not even. The 26.12% max gradient tells you that some pitches run to roughly four times the average, so the true rhythm is a sawtooth: kilometres of manageable grade that let you settle, then abrupt walls that spike your effort and heart rate. Because the total ascent (1130 m) sits close to the net gain (1141 m), there is very little false-flat relief — the road climbs almost continuously, so any easier section is easier only relative to the ramps around it, never actually flat. Expect to spend the whole 16.6 km gaining height with no meaningful recovery downhill.

Pacing Notes

The smart way to ride Colomba is to anchor your effort to your sustainable ceiling rather than to any single ramp. Hold a steady percentage of your FTP on the long 6.88% sections, and treat the pitches toward 26.12% as short over-threshold surges you absorb and then release — not as new baselines. Blowing up on an early wall costs you far more than the seconds you save by muscling over it. Over 16.6 km and 1141 m of climbing, patience pays. If you are not sure what wattage your steady sections should hold, run your numbers through the FTP estimator first and set a target band you can defend all the way to 1169 m.

Gearing

Gear for the walls, not the average. The 6.88% mean is comfortably rideable on a compact, but the 26.12% ramps will punish anything too tall — and they arrive after you have already been climbing, with tired legs. A compact 34-tooth inner paired with a wide-range cassette is the sensible baseline: 34×32 gives most riders enough to hold cadence on the steadier grades, but for the steepest pitches a 34×34 (or lower) keeps you spinning instead of grinding to a standstill. Given the 1141 m of gain packed into 16.6 km, err toward the easier setup — you will never regret having one more sprocket in reserve on a 26.12% wall.

Summary

Passo della Colomba is a Category 1 climb that rewards discipline: pace the 6.88% average, respect the 26.12% ramps, and gear low enough to keep turning the pedals to the top. Do that, and the 1141 m of net gain becomes a satisfying day rather than a survival crawl.

Length: 16.6 km
Average gradient: 6.88%
Max gradient: 26.12%
Start: 28 m
Summit: 1169 m
Net gain: 1141 m
Total ascent: 1130 m
Category: 1