Sella di Monte Cordona

Overview

Sella di Monte Cordona is a long, honest climb: 16 km of road that lifts you from 39 m at the base to 781 m at the summit. That is 742 m of net gain, and because the total ascent tallies 761 m, there are a few small dips along the way that you will pay back before the top. The average gradient sits at 4.63%, which places this firmly in category 2 — not the brutal, unrelenting wall of an HC pass, but a climb long enough that a poorly judged effort will still leave you unravelling in the final kilometres.

How the Gradient Unfolds

A 4.63% average across 16 km sounds gentle, and much of the climb genuinely is. But the number that shapes your day is the 10.93% maximum. Because the mean is so moderate, that steepest ramp is more than double the average, which tells you the gradient is uneven rather than uniform. Expect long stretches that sit comfortably below the average — the sort of grade you can spin through in the saddle — punctuated by shorter, sharper pitches that spike toward double digits. The 20 m gap between net gain and total ascent confirms the profile rolls: you will lose a little height here and there, then claw it straight back on the next rise. Read the road ahead and treat those steep ramps as the defining moments, not the averages.

Pacing Notes

On a climb like this, discipline beats bravado. The temptation on the shallow early gradients is to push hard while it feels easy — resist it. Anchor your effort to your sustainable threshold: aim to hold just under your FTP on the gentler sections so you have headroom left when the road tilts toward 10.93%. Over 16 km, a surplus of ten or fifteen watts early can cost you minutes late. If you are unsure of your threshold number, run the FTP estimator before you ride so you can pace to real data rather than feel. The goal is an even effort, not an even speed — let your pace sag on the steep pitches and recover on the flatter ones.

Gearing

The 4.63% average is manageable on almost any setup, but the 10.93% ramps are where undergearing bites. For most riders a compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette is the sensible choice. A 34×32 will cover the steepest sections for strong climbers holding good cadence, but if you weigh your bike down with gear, ride tired, or simply value spinning over grinding, size up to a 34×34. That extra sprocket keeps your cadence high on the 10.93% pitches and protects your knees across a climb this long. There is no prize for turning a bigger gear here.

Summary

Sella di Monte Cordona rewards patience: pace the shallow kilometres, save your matches for the steep ramps, and gear low enough to spin the hardest 10.93% pitch. Do that, and the 742 m of climbing arrives under control.

Length: 16 km
Average gradient: 4.63%
Max gradient: 10.93%
Start: 39 m
Summit: 781 m
Net gain: 742 m
Total ascent: 761 m
Category: 2