Passo dello Stelvio

Where it is

The Stelvio links Bormio in Lombardy with Prato allo Stelvio in South Tyrol, with a third road climbing from Switzerland's Val Müstair. The figures here are the Prato side - the longest, with the famous wall of 48 numbered hairpins. The summit at 2758 m is the second-highest paved road pass in the Alps after the Iseran.

What makes it iconic

The Prato side is a draftsman's drawing of a climb. Forty-eight numbered switchbacks stacked into a near-vertical mountainside, rising 1800 m in 24 km. The gradient stays remarkably steady at around 7.5 percent, but the altitude bites in the last six kilometres, and the air is thin from the upper hairpins onward.

Race history

The Giro d'Italia first crossed the Stelvio in 1953 with a Fausto Coppi attack that won him the maglia rosa. It is one of the Giro's Cima Coppi (highest point) climbs and has been crossed roughly fifteen times. Memorable modern editions include 2014 with Quintana attacking through the snow flurries, and 2017 with Dumoulin in pink. The Tour has never crossed it.

Pacing

The grade is consistent - there is no killer ramp to fear, only the slow accumulation of altitude. Set a pace you could sustain for two and a half hours and stick to it. Drink continuously and eat every 25 minutes. The last 600 m of altitude come slower than they should; this is normal.

Practical notes

Open roughly late May to early October. Snow on the upper hairpins can persist into June. The descent toward Bormio is among the most spectacular in Europe - long, smooth and technical. The summit hut serves bratwurst that, after a 1800 m climb, you will remember for years.