Passo dello Stelvio from Prato (North side)
The Stelvio road from Prato allo Stelvio, in South Tyrol, Italy, was built for the Austrian Empire to reach Lombardy, then under Austrian rule. The engineer Carlo Donegani laid it out, and it was finished in 1825. This side has 48 hairpins, each one numbered on a stone. The Giro d’Italia first crossed the pass in 1953, climbing this side on the penultimate stage to Bormio: Fausto Coppi dropped the race leader Hugo Koblet, took the pink jersey and won his fifth and last Giro. Since 1965, whenever the Giro crosses the Stelvio, the pass has been its Cima Coppi, the highest point of the race.
This ride climbs through Gomagoi to Trafoi, where the ski champion Gustav Thöni was born; he won Olympic gold in the giant slalom in 1972. From the village the road climbs on to the summit, which was the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy until the end of the First World War. The ride goes over the top, turns off for the Umbrail Pass and ends a few hairpins down that road, in Switzerland.
Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
City: Prato allo Stelvio
Distance: 29.96 km
Elevation Gain: 1802 m
Elevation Loss: 553 m
Difficulty: 1552 (Extreme)
FIETS Index: 14.69 FIETS
Avg Grade: 7.62 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 966 m
Max elevation: 2762 m
Ride Category: Epic Climb