DOLOMITES & STELVIO

ARRIVAL DAY
We pick up from Venice before making the transfer to Belluno where we stay the night. We'll have all the tools available for you to assemble your bike and then you can relax until dinner, where we'll discuss the trip and get to know each other. Then you may want to get a reasonably early night - it will be quite a long day tomorrow.

DAY 1 - BELLUNO TO SELVA DI CADORE - 81KM, CLIMBING 2,600 METRES
From our hotel we ride through an urban area for about 8km, until we cross the river at Ponte Mas, and leave the town behind us. Before long we're cycling along quiet, almost flat roads with the mountains in the distance. We follow the banks of Lake Mis for almost 6km, riding through a series of fairly short tunnels until we get to the end of the lake. That's the 20km warm-up over, and this is the foot of our first climb, the Forcella Franche (992m), which starts very gently, but ramps up rapidly for the last 5km, reaching a maximum gradient of 10%. We continue down the other side, descending into Agordo, where we stop for lunch. Our next climb is the Passo Duran (1601m), dubbed "Duran Duran" by some previous clients who said it was so bad, it deserved to be named twice. We descend into Dont and then head for the Passo Staulanza (1773m). The countryside here is green and lush, punctuated by enormous peaks that rise above us, and which characterise the Dolomites. From the top it's thankfully downhill all the way to the hotel.

DAY 2 - SELVA DI CADORE TO CORTINA D'AMPEZZO - 78KM, CLIMBING 2,500 METRES
You don't get the luxury of a warm-up today - it's literally out of the hotel and within a kilometre we start the first climb, the Passo di Giau (2233m). This is 10km with an average of 9%, so definitely not easy, but from the top you have stunning views of both sides of the summit, which are totally different, but both incredibly beautiful. We make the 16km descent into Cortina, where we'll probably regroup and have coffee, before starting the steady ascent to the Passo Tre Croci (1809m). Straight over the top and we continue to beautiful Lake Misurina, where there are several cafés for our lunch stop, before we head off on a climb that most clients agree is the most difficult of the tour, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (2320m). This is the scene of many stage finishes in the Giro d'Italia, and every one of the last 8km averages over 10%!. The view from the top is absolutely astonishing, it's really like being on top of the world. This isn't a long climb, and it's very rewarding, but it's certainly not for the faint hearted. We then head back to the other side of Cortina, where we stay the night. For those who don't want to ride up to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, you can either stay at Lake Misurina and have a beer while you wait for the others to return, or just go straight to the hotel and relax there.

DAY 3 - CORTINA D'AMPEZZO TO COLFOSCO - 90KM, CLIMBING 2,700 METRES
From our hotel on the outskirts of Cortina, we head west through green but rocky terrain towards the Passo Falzarego (2117m). It seemed a shame to miss seeing the Passo Valparola (2168m) too, which is a 2km detour off our route, so we've included it in the day. The terrain here is much less green than anything we've seen so far, in fact quite barren and rocky. When we reach the top, we turn and descend back to the Falzarego again before turning right and descending to Caprile. Right turn again and now we're starting the climb to the Passo di Fedaia (2057m) with its lovely lake on top, and then back down to Canazei. Our last major climb of the day is the Passo di Sella (2244m), and then we round off the day with the much more gentle (and stunningly beautiful) Passo di Gardena (2136m), finally descending into Colfosco, where we spend the night.

DAY 4 - COLFOSCO TO PASSO SAN PELLEGRINO - 61KM, CLIMBING 1,700 METRES
For once we leave the hotel on a descent, albeit only for a couple of kilometres, before we start the short and fairly gentle climb up to the Passo di Campolongo (1875m), which is probably the easiest climb we have on the entire trip. Over the top and we cycle down into the bustling little town of Arabba. Now we reach our main climb of the day, the Passo Pordoi (2239m), nine fairly steep kilometres averaging almost 7%. There are several cafés at the top, so the perfect spot for lunch. We descend again to Canazei, and then continue to Moena, where we turn east and our last climb in the Dolomites, the 12km Passo San Pellegrino (1915m), which averages 6.3%. We load the bikes up, climb into the vans and we have a 2.5 hour transfer to our hotel at the foot of Stelvio - we bet none of you can stay awake once we start moving! 

DAY 5 - PRATO ALLO STELVIO TO PONTE DI LEGNO - 97KM, CLIMBING 3,100 METRES
For many cyclists Stelvio has a certain dreadful fascination. Its famous 48 hairpins have been included regularly in the Giro, and the view back down the valley from the top is incredible. At 2757 metres, it's one of the highest passes we've ever included in an event. Although Stelvio is steep, you get a welcome rest on every right-hand hairpin, and everyone tells us that it's the best climb they've ever done. The strudel at the café at the top is the best you've ever tasted, but that could be something to do with the effort involved in getting to it! When we've finished our coffee break we descend through several tunnels and finally arrive in Bormio, where we'll stop for lunch. Then onwards to the Passo di Gavia (2621m), another iconic climb. At the bottom it's green and lush, but as you ascend it becomes more rocky and barren. Just before the top you pass an amazing war memorial (a stone pyramid with an eagle on top) before you arrive at a lake that has ice on the surface until late in the summer. The refuge at the top is a mini-museum, packed full of old photos and cycling memorabilia, and they make fantastic cappuccino. The descent is a bit hair-raising, there's quite a poor road surface at the top, followed by a dark tunnel, and then lots of hairpins on a narrow road, but it gets better as you go down, and finally we come into Ponte di Legno, where we stay the night.

DAY 6 - PONTE DI LEGNO TO MAZZO DI VALTELLINA - 39KM, CLIMBING 1,300 METRES
It's the last day, and we aim to round off the trip in style, with the infamous Passo di Mortirolo - or Foppa in Italian - (1852m). You cycle from the hotel in Ponte di Legno along the valley for about 10km before you head up the south east climb, dropping down into Mazzo di Valtellina via the more difficult south west side. At that point you have a choice. You can call it a day, or head back up the harder side, which Lance Armstrong once said was the hardest climb he’d ever done! This climb is usually associated with Marco Pantani (in fact, he still holds the record), and there is a monument to him on the climb. If you do decide to ride it, and then descend again, that adds 24km to the day, and 1,000 metres of climbing. There’s no pressure, it’s entirely up to you, but when everyone is back and the bikes are packed away, we load up and head to Lecco, on the banks of Lake Como.

DEPARTURE DAY
The transfer from Lecco is two hours and there are three airports in Milan - Linate, Malpensa and Bergamo.  We'll drop you back to whichever is most convenient.