Sella Burain

Overview

Sella Burain is a long, patient Italian climb that trades brutality for endurance. Over its full 22 km it lifts you from a near-sea-level start at 5 m to a summit of 768 m, a net gain of 763 m. That works out to an average gradient of just 3.47%, which on paper looks gentle — and for long stretches it genuinely is. What earns this ascent its category-2 rating (harder than a 3 or 4, easier than a 1 or HC) is not steepness but sheer duration: 22 km is a long time to keep the pressure on, and the shallow average hides where the real work lives.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The headline figures tell a story of contrast. A 3.47% average across 22 km means most of the climb ticks by in comfortable single digits, the kind of grade you can ride seated and rolling. But the max gradient of 14.55% is more than four times that average, so somewhere on this road the gentle rhythm breaks into a genuine wall.

The total ascent of 773 m sits slightly above the 763 m net gain — a 10 m difference that signals brief downhill or flat sections where the road gives a little back before climbing again. This is a rolling profile, not a relentless one. Expect false flats, recovery zones, and then sharp pitches that spike toward that 14.55% figure. Managing those transitions is the whole game.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this long, the mistake is spending too much on the steep ramps and arriving at the summit hollowed out. Anchor your effort to your sustainable power. Riding the shallow 3.47% sections just under FTP lets you surge over the 14.55% pitches without going deep into the red.

If you don't know your threshold, estimate it first with the FTP estimator, then set a target you can hold for the roughly hour-plus this 22 km will demand. Treat the steep ramps as short over-efforts and settle back onto rhythm the moment the grade eases. The 10 m of give-back between the 763 m net and 773 m total ascent are your free recovery — use them.

Gearing

Because the average is modest, you won't need ultra-low gearing for most of Sella Burain — but the 14.55% max will punish anyone who arrives at the wall over-geared and 20 km into their legs. A compact 34-tooth chainring paired with a 32-tooth sprocket (34×32) is a sensible baseline for the steep sections. If you're a lighter-legged climber, prefer higher cadence, or plan to ride the full 22 km fresh into a longer day, size up to 34×34 for extra margin. The comfort of spinning the steep ramps beats grinding them at the end of a 763 m ascent.

Summary

Sella Burain is an exercise in patience: 22 km of mostly gentle grade punctuated by one genuinely steep demand. Pace the shallows, respect the max, and the summit at 768 m arrives as a reward rather than a survival.

Length: 22 km
Average gradient: 3.47%
Max gradient: 14.55%
Start: 5 m
Summit: 768 m
Net gain: 763 m
Total ascent: 773 m
Category: 2