Valico di Monte Pelizzone

Overview

The Valico di Monte Pelizzone is a long, steady category 2 climb that rewards patience over punch. Over 15.8 km it gains 733 m of net elevation, hauling you from a valley floor at 301 m up to a summit crossing at 1034 m. The average gradient of 4.63% sounds gentle on paper, and for much of the road it is — this is a climb you settle into rather than one that jumps you at the base. But the numbers hide some teeth: the steepest pitch bites at 9.17%, roughly double the average, so the effort is far from uniform. With total ascent measured at 717 m against 733 m of net gain, the profile is almost entirely uphill, with barely any respite of downhill or flat to break the rhythm.

How the Gradient Unfolds

Think of this climb as a long, sustained pull rather than a wall. The 4.63% average across 15.8 km means the bulk of the road sits in a comfortable-but-relentless tempo zone. The gap between that average and the 9.17% maximum tells you where the difficulty lives: in a handful of concentrated ramps that spike well above the mean. Between those steeper kicks, the grade eases back below average, giving you brief windows to recover cadence and shake out your legs. Because total ascent (717 m) and net gain (733 m) sit so close together, there are essentially no descents to coast — every kilometre trends upward, so the challenge is cumulative fatigue as much as any single steep section.

Pacing Notes

The key to Monte Pelizzone is riding to your sustainable power, not to the gradient in front of you. Anchor your effort just under your FTP on the flatter tempo sections, and let your power drift up only across the steeper ramps toward 9.17% — then reel it back the moment the road relents. Going too deep early, when the 4.63% average feels easy, is the classic mistake on a climb this long. If you're unsure of your threshold, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you commit to a target. On a 15.8 km climb, a disciplined, even effort will almost always beat a surging one to the top.

Gearing

For a climb of this length and gradient, favour a compact setup with a wide-range cassette. A 34×32 will cover the majority of the 4.63% tempo, letting you spin rather than grind through the sustained middle. But with the maximum touching 9.17% late in a long day, a 34×34 gives you the extra bailout gear to keep your cadence up when your legs are already deep into 733 m of accumulated climbing. If you tend to mash at low RPM, err toward the 34×34 — protecting your knees over 15.8 km pays off long before the summit.

Summary

Valico di Monte Pelizzone is a long, honest category 2 climb: steady tempo punctuated by steeper kicks, with almost no relief from start to summit. Pace it to your threshold, gear generously, and let the 733 m of gain come to you.

Length: 15.8 km
Average gradient: 4.63%
Max gradient: 9.17%
Start: 301 m
Summit: 1034 m
Net gain: 733 m
Total ascent: 717 m
Category: 2