A Look Ahead - 2008 Giro Mountains

Once again our friend, Dan McCormack, who was at our sides as we traversed over the Pyrenees and rode into Paris in 2003, checks in to provide a firsthand perspective of the challenges that the peloton will be faced with as the Giro route turns upward.

Hey Cranks and cycling fans, we’ve got a great 10 days ahead in the ’08 Giro and thought I’d add a little personal perspective. After riding the ’03 TdF with all three Cranksets, I moved on to the Giro in ’06 to satisfy my yearning to ride in the Italian Dolomites (and guess that means I need to do the Vuelta in ’09).

By any standard, it will be a climbers Giro with mountain finishes on Stages 14, 15 and 19; a STEEP mountain ITT on Stage 16 with some gravel at the end (snow permitting); and the classic Passo Gavia in the middle of the Giro’s penultimate Stage 20.

Any of these stages could reveal our ’08 Maglia Rosa winner, but I’ve got my eyes on the Dolomites Stars Stage 15 next Sunday (May 25th). The stage includes six serious climbs, four of which I rode during the ’06 Giro, and finishes on Passo Fedaia (the most brutal climb I’ve ever ridden!!).

We’re use to seeing these daunting profiles and I can attest first hand that this will be an incredible day of suffering! Below is the Stage 15 profile showing the climbs and direction I rode in ’06 (in blue) during three days of riding in the region out of Alleghe.


The first climb is the Passo Pordoi, which is part of the Sella Loop. This is the most enjoyable day of climbing I’ve ever experienced with 4 climbs totaling about 27 km in a 60-70 km loop. Enjoyable (as climbing goes that is) because all are true mountain climbs but they are short enough to survive and then recover while descending to the next one. I was 51 when I rode the loop, and what an incredible feeling to ride 4 climbs in one day (like the pros do so often).


The riders will then move on to Passo San Pellegrino, and lucky for them, they’ll be climbing from the west (which is definitely easier). Due to a severe rain storm, I didn’t get to ride the route they’ll take, but I later rode the climb from the opposite direction and was totally cooked! (this climb is so steep & winding that it was even scary driving down it in our bus going out to Alleghe during the rain storm).

The Giro will then cruise over the San Tamaso Agordino and take a detour away from the finish just to wear out the riders’ legs on Passo Giau and Passo Falzarego (I rode in this area but not over either of these climbs).

This stage has the potential to determine the Giro winner because of the incredible finish up Passo Fedaia. When I looked at the profile before riding it, I didn’t think it would be too bad as it’s only about 13.5 km long and the first 10 km of the route is a straight road (as opposed to switchbacks indicating steepness). Boy was I wrong!!

The road was straight alright, basically going up the valley towards the summit, but the pitch was pretty much 8% to 12% and without any turns to level off and rest, it was psychologically and physically brutal. The reward for surviving that was the last 3 km which was incredibly beautiful (not that I noticed going up), but steep and then steeper!

The first picture below shows the end of the valley road, about 3 km from the finish, as the climb finally has to switchback to handle the steepness … and the next picture is one of the last sections before the summit finish (and no trick camera angle – it is absolutely that steep).



…and on my way partially down to watch the Giro come through, I was able to enjoy some local fans (Pez-style) ~ rideonrider

Photos: Dan McCormack (third through fifth)