Colletta delle Salse

Overview

Colletta delle Salse is a long, honest category-1 climb that asks for patience more than punch. Over 21.7 km it averages 5.95%, dragging you from a valley floor at 352 m up to a summit at 1642 m. That is 1290 m of net elevation gain, with 1337 m of total ascent once the small dips and false flats are added back in. It is the kind of ascent where the length, not any single ramp, is what breaks riders — a climb you settle into rather than attack.

How the Gradient Unfolds

Do not let the 5.95% average fool you. An average is the story of the whole, and this climb hides a sharper edge inside it: pitches reaching 15.2%, more than double the mean. The gap between the total ascent of 1337 m and the net gain of 1290 m tells you the road is not perfectly monotonic — there are brief eases and short descents, roughly 47 m of them, that interrupt the rhythm and force you to re-accelerate. Expect a climb that oscillates: long stretches near the average, punctuated by steeper walls that spike toward that 15.2% ceiling. Those ramps are where a poorly chosen pace unravels.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this long, the discipline is starting slower than feels right. Riding at or just under your FTP for 21.7 km is a big ask, so anchor your effort well below threshold on the shallower sections and save headroom for the 15.2% pitches, where power naturally surges. If you do not know your threshold, run the numbers through the FTP estimator first — it turns "feel" into a target you can actually hold. With 1290 m to gain, the summit is a long way off; treat the first two-thirds as a warm-up and only commit hard once the top is in reach.

Gearing

Gear for the length and the spikes, not the average. Most riders will want a compact 34-tooth chainring paired with a wide cassette. A 34×32 gives you a workable low gear for sustained 5.95% riding, but on the 15.2% ramps — late in a 21.7 km effort, on tired legs — it can feel marginal. If you have any doubt about your fitness or you like to spin, size up to 34×34. The extra teeth cost you almost nothing on the flatter sections and buy real insurance on the steep pitches near the top, where cadence collapse is the enemy over 1290 m of climbing.

Summary

Colletta delle Salse rewards restraint: pace the 21.7 km conservatively, gear generously for the 15.2% walls, and let the 1290 m of gain come to you rather than chasing it. Get the first half right and the 1642 m summit is very much within reach.

Length: 21.7 km
Average gradient: 5.95%
Max gradient: 15.2%
Start: 352 m
Summit: 1642 m
Net gain: 1290 m
Total ascent: 1337 m
Category: 1