Mortirolo Pass

The Mortirolo Pass (Italian: Passo di Mortirolo) (el. 1852 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in Italy. Also known as Passo di Foppa, it connects Mazzo di Valtellina (province of Sondrio) and Val Camonica (province of Brescia). The road from Mazzo di Valtellina is one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing, having been used in the Giro d'Italia stage race many times.

Mortirolo Pass
Elevation1,852 m (6,076 ft)
LocationSondrio/Brescia (Lombardy), Italy
RangeItalian Alps
Coordinates46°14′53″N 10°17′57″E
Mortirolo Pass
Location of Mortirolo Pass

In May 2004, while training in Italian Alps, Lance Armstrong said that it was the hardest climb he had ever ridden.[1]

Details of the climb

The mountain pass can be climbed by three roads, although the one from Mazzo di Valtellina is the most famous and only twice the Giro d'Italia climbed the mountain from alternative sides.

  • From Mazzo di Valtellina: The actual climb to the summit starts at Mazzo di Valtellina and is 12.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1300 m), the maximum gradient being 18%.[2]
  • From Grosio: The actual climb to the summit starts at Grosio and is 14.8 kilometres long at an average of 8.3% (height gain: 1222 m).[3]
  • From Edolo: The actual climb to the summit starts at Edolo and is 17.2 kilometres long at an average of 6.7% (height gain: 1153 m).[4]
  • From Tovo di Sant'Agata: The actual climb to the summit starts at Tovo and is 11.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1194 m).[5]

Giro d'Italia
Monument to Marco Pantani.

The Mortirolo Pass has featured several times in the Giro d'Italia, usually as the last or penultimate climb before the finish. The first time was in Stage 15 of the 1990 Giro d'Italia, between Morbegno and Aprica, starting from Edolo. Due to the steepness of the descent and the crashes that were occurring, the organisers decided to climb this mountain starting from Mazzo in subsequent years.

Since the death of Marco Pantani in 2004, stages of the Giro that go over the Mortirolo feature a special prize to the first man at the top of the pass, called Cima Pantani ("Pantani Top"). A monument to Marco Pantani was erected in 2006 by the Italian Professional Riders Association in the eighth kilometre of the road from Mazzo di Valtellina. [6]

First rider passing Mortirolo in Giro d'Italia
Year Name Country Stage Side
1990Leonardo Sierra Venezuela17Edolo
1991Franco Chioccioli Italy15Mazzo di Valtellina
1994Marco Pantani Italy15Mazzo di Valtellina
1996Ivan Gotti Italy21Mazzo di Valtellina
1997Wladimir Belli Italy21Mazzo di Valtellina
1999Ivan Gotti Italy21Mazzo di Valtellina
2004Raffaele Illiano Italy19Mazzo di Valtellina
2006Ivan Basso Italy20Mazzo di Valtellina
2008Toni Colom Spain20Mazzo di Valtellina
2010Ivan Basso Italy19Mazzo di Valtellina
2012Oliver Zaugg  Switzerland20Tovo di Sant'Agata
2015Steven Kruijswijk Netherlands16Mazzo di Valtellina
2017Luis León Sánchez Spain16Edolo
2019Giulio Ciccone Italy16Mazzo di Valtellina

See also

References
  1. Lance, meet the Mortirolo
  2. Mortirolo
  3. Mortirolo
  4. Mortirolo
  6. Bianchi Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
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