Passo della Cerusa

Overview

Passo della Cerusa is a Category 1 climb in Italy, running 13.2 km from near sea level to a summit high in the hills behind the coast. It starts at just 12 m of elevation and tops out at 939 m, for a net elevation gain of 927 m. At an average gradient of 7.01%, it sits firmly in the range where a Category 1 label is earned on length and sustained pitch rather than a single brutal wall.

The number that reshapes how you ride it is total ascent: 1,506 m against a net gain of 927 m. That 579 m gap means the climb is not a clean ramp — it undulates, giving back roughly 579 m of descent that you then have to reclaim. Every metre you coast down is a metre you pay for again, so the effort is meaningfully harder than the net figures suggest. Treat this as a climb with false flats and dips, not a steady grind.

How the Gradient Unfolds

An average of 7.01% is an accounting trick here: the undulation drags the mean down, which means the climbing sections are steeper than 7% while the recovery sections sit near flat or downhill. Expect the road to pulse rather than settle.

• Flatter and downhill recovery sections that let the average look tame
• Repeated short climbs stacked back-to-back rather than one continuous wall
• A steepest ramp that spikes well into double-digit gradients — brace for it
• Sharp transitions where a dip rolls straight into a fresh pitch

Pacing Notes

On a smooth climb you can hold a fixed power and let speed float. On Cerusa, that undulation forces a choice. Chasing an even speed means over-cooking the steep pitches and wasting watts on the flats — a fast route to blowing up. Instead, pace to a target sustainable power output: hold steady effort on the climbs, ease off and recover on the descents and false flats, and accept that your speed will swing widely. Know your ceiling before you start by running the FTP estimator, then ride the ramps a touch below it so the repeated pitches don't compound into fatigue.

Gearing

The steepest ramp is the gearing decision-maker, not the average. A pitch in the double digits at the back of a 13.2 km effort will overwhelm a standard road setup. Run a compact (50/34) or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 as the floor, or 34×34 if you want margin to spin rather than grind. Check your chainset and cassette before the ride: swapping a cassette trailside is not an option.

Summary

• Length: 13.2 km
• Average gradient: 7.01%
• Net elevation gain: 927 m
• Total ascent: 1,506 m
• Category: 1

Passo della Cerusa rewards riders who respect the gap between net gain and total ascent. Pace to power, gear for the steepest ramp, and let the undulation work with you rather than against you.