Passo dello Stelvio
The Stelvio is one of Italy’s great national landmarks, it remains today arguably the purest, most exhilarating, most spellbinding mountain playground accessible to cyclists.
You could say when riding the Stelvio that there is something spiritual about the journey to its summit. La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Claudio Gregori in 2005 wrote ‘The gods live on the mountains; The Indians had located them on the mythical Muru. The Greeks on Olympus. The sherpas on the Himalayas. The Japanese on Mount Fuji. The Stelvio is the sacred mountain of the Giro d’Italia.’
Created as a way to connect the regions of Lombardy and neighbouring Tyrol, renowned architect Carlo Donegani spent a year plotting his 49-kilometre masterpiece and amazingly only five years to build it. In 1825 the Stelvio was officially opened.
Since then it has gained a mythical status to cyclists and is a must for anyone who loves the challenge the mountains bring.