Roadbike - Climbs of legend - Vetriolo

The road ascending from Levico Terme to Vetriolo has often been a challenge ground for champions competing in the Giro d’Italia. On this climb, the American Andrew Hampsten, in 1988, secured the pink jersey by winning the individual time trial. He was the first non-European cyclist to win the Giro.

A sporting history bearing witness to the severity of a climb that gives no respite. It must be tackled with some preparation, since only the first kilometers are relatively easy. With the first hairpin bend, the road starts to climb and never stops. The gradients are steady around seven to eight percent, with peaks exceeding ten. To those climbing, the Valsugana appears surrounded by mountains that rise suddenly, heavy with the history of the conflict of 1915–18. On the sides, the vegetation is rich in wildlife. The water running down is full of substances stolen from the mountain: minerals that have written a millennial story in the area’s mining activity. Its arsenic and iron-rich characteristics have created a thermal tradition that continues today. At Vetriolo, one can still see the glory of the past. The mark of Habsburg nobility that refreshed itself on the mountain above Levico Terme, which had risen to city status. At Vetriolo, the effort ends with satisfaction, and the bicycle stops. From here, you can observe the panorama of a sky colored by the sails of kites and hang gliders launching beside the last steep slope.