Vinschgau trip or a glimpse of the Giro 2014
There is no doubt, that cycling has a special status in Italy, probably caused by it’s tradition of great champions in times past or races with a long history such as Giro d’Italia, Milan-Sanremo or Il Lombardia.
As someone who doesn’t live in Italy, I sometime take a few days off from work to explore new areas for short vacations or a cycling trip.
As to me, a trip like that has to include something special, namely fabulous climbs.
Temperatures in the mountains would be more pleasant in July or August, but I prefer to travel later the year as weather is more stable and traffic is alright.
And hey, weather-wise, Castelli offers plenty of warm(er) and protective clothes if needed (at least for the descents).
During the first week of October, weather was fine and my riding pal and I enjoyed a couple of great days on the bike.
We were based in a fancy hotel in the village of Latsch (Vintschgau). A great location to start from, relax in the noble wellness area and refuel our energy for the next ride.
Regarding bikes, we’ve chosen to explore the famous climbs of that area such as Stelvio, Val Martello and Val Senales.
Down the valley one can avoid traffic by cruising through fruit plantations (mainly apples) on the ‘Vinschgauer’ cycle path.
If you turn off the main valley, you can choose from various narrow roads in the hills or take one of the tributary valleys.
Exploring some mountains of the Giro 2014 route was our main reason for this trip.
Val Martello should have been ridden already this year, but heavy snowfall forced race organizers to cancel the whole stage (which also included Stelvio).
The climb of Val Martello is around 22 km long and starts quite gently. Gradient varies between 6 and 9 % for the first 15 k. After around 1200 m of elevation gained and 18 k, you reach the ‘Lago di Gioveretto’ reservoir which has to be grinded out by some turns up to 14 %. The road alongside the lake is a great opportunity to ease the legs before the final effort and enjoy the breathtaking views.
A series of narrow switchbacks and gradient of 14 % for nearly 2 k completes the climb which will be the finish of stage 16 of the Giro d’italia 2014.
The next day, a long delayed dream came true:
Stelvio, described as the king of mountain passes by some of my cycling friends.
Leaving our base, we had about an hour to warm-up until we reached Prad and the real start of our plan.
Bare figures of the climb: 48 switchbacks, 25 k of ascent, 1850 m of elevation.
The first half of the climb is quite unspectacular while passing small, almost died out, villages (Gomagoi, Trafoi) with moderate gradient. Just after Trafoi we hit the first series of switchbacks and the real fun gets started.
The weather wasn’t very inviting at the beginning with heavy fog and it should take us up to around 2200 m before we were blessed with warming sunbeams.
At switchback #22 we reached the fog boundary and got a fist sight to the summit – stunning!
Only 6 k of winding road left. On top we were met with comfortable 14°C, sun and a unique mountain panorama.
We took a few snapshots, put on warm clothes an enjoyed the longest descent of our cycling life so far.
I need not to mention, that we quickly were trapped in the fog again.
Another hour later, we reached our hotel and were bubbling over with ideas of our next cycling adventure.
I’ll definitely come back to Stelvio – maybe already in 2014 to follow the Giro stage.
