Passo di Scalieret

Overview

Passo di Scalieret is a category 1 climb that earns its rating the honest way: length and relentlessness. Over 13.8 km the road lifts you from 777 m at the base to 1785 m at the summit, a net gain of 1008 m. The average gradient sits at 7.28%, which is steep enough to hurt for the full duration and shallow enough to tempt you into starting too hard. With 1000 m of total ascent packed into a single sustained effort, this is a climb where discipline matters more than raw power.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The headline number, 7.28%, tells only part of the story. On a climb this long, an average that high means very little flat and almost no recovery. The defining feature is a maximum pitch of 17.47%, a wall that spikes to roughly two and a half times the average gradient. That single ramp reshapes the entire climb: everything before it is a question of how much you have left when you arrive, and everything after it is a test of whether you can rebuild rhythm on tired legs.

Because the summit stands at 1785 m and the base at 777 m, you are climbing through 1008 m of vertical relief. Expect the gradient to oscillate around the 7.28% mean, with softer stretches lulling you into pushing before the road stiffens again. Treat every easing as a chance to recover, not to attack.

Pacing Notes

Your single most useful reference here is FTP. On a 13.8 km climb, small pacing errors compound into large ones, so anchor your effort to a percentage of threshold rather than to how you feel in the first kilometre. Most riders should settle just under FTP for the sustained sections and accept a controlled surge over the 17.47% ramp, then deliberately back off to clear the effort from their legs.

If you do not know your threshold, estimate it first with the FTP estimator. Once you have a number, plan to hold a steady output across the 1008 m of gain and reserve a matchbook's worth of headroom specifically for the steepest pitch, where staying seated and spinning beats grinding out of the saddle.

Gearing

Do not under-gear this one. With an average of 7.28% and a 17.47% maximum, you want low ratios that let you keep cadence up when the road bites. A compact 34-tooth inner ring paired with a 32-tooth cassette sprocket — a 34×32 — is the sensible baseline for strong riders who can hold power at lower cadence. If you weigh more, are riding into fatigue, or simply want insurance for that steepest ramp, size up to a 34×34. The extra range costs you nothing on the shallower sections and buys you a genuine escape gear when the gradient nearly doubles the average.

Summary

Passo di Scalieret is a proper category 1 test: 13.8 km of sustained 7.28% climbing, a 1008 m ascent to a 1785 m summit, and a single 17.47% pitch that decides how your day ends. Pace it to your FTP, gear it low, and respect the length.

Length: 13.8 km
Average gradient: 7.28%
Max gradient: 17.47%
Start: 777 m
Summit: 1785 m
Net gain: 1008 m
Total ascent: 1000 m
Category: 1