Mortirolo Pass (from Mazzo di Valtellina)

If you want to get to know the history of cycling, your limits and the leg ache, then Mortirolo Pass really suits you. We are talking about one of the toughest climb in the world, which connects Valtellina and Valcamonica, 12.4 really demanding kilometres, departing from Mazzo at 552 m a.s.l. and arriving at 1852 m a.s.l., with an average gradient of 10.5% and peaks over 20%. The hardest part starts after about 4 km, when you leave behind the church dedicated to St. Matthew. Right here the gradients become superhuman' and many cyclists have to put a foot down on the road. This is the section where the myth of Marco Pantani was born, as he managed to outdistance, for the first time, the great Miguel Indurain. It was the year 1994 and on these ramps one of the greatest climbers ever in the history of cycling stood out. Curiously, the first time that Giro d'Italia faced this side of the Mortirolo Pass was, however, downhill: the Venezuelan leonardo Sierra risked his life, falling several times in order to be the first to cross the finish line in Aprica. During the 1990s, memorable were the duels among Franco Chioccioli, Gianni bugno and Claudio Chiappucci, followed a few years later by those among Paolo Savoldelli, Ivan Gotti and Gilberto Simoni. Recently in 2010 Mortirolo has crowned Ivan basso and - in 2015 - Alberto Contador.