Monte Zoncolan (West side)
Distance: 10.20 km
Elevation Gain: 1196 m
Elevation Loss: 14 m
Difficulty:
1686 (Extreme)
FIETS Index: 14.26 FIETS
Avg Grade: 11.93 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 534 m
Max elevation: 1729 m
Ride Category:
Epic Climb
Monte Zoncolan rises in the Carnic Alps of Friuli, Italy. Its western road, from Ovaro, made it one of the Giro d’Italia’s best-known summit finishes, and the race calls the mountain the Kaiser. The first Giro finish, in 2003, came up the other side, from Sutrio. In 2007 the race tried the Ovaro side, and Gilberto Simoni won when Leonardo Piepoli let him cross the line first. Ivan Basso won here in 2010 on his way to the overall title, and in 2018 Chris Froome beat the race leader, Simon Yates, by six seconds and went on to win the Giro.
The ride starts in Ovaro and reaches Liariis, where the road enters the forest and the real climb begins. In July 2018 Annemiek van Vleuten won the women’s Giro stage up this road, on her way to the overall title. Higher up, the road passes Malga Pozof and goes through three short tunnels before the last ramps to the summit saddle, where the ride finishes just over the top.
