Giro d'Italia climbs - Gardeccia
Race cycling • Val di Fassa
Giro d'Italia climbs - Gardeccia
In the 1976 Giro d'Italia mountain stage, Felice Gimondi lost the pink jersey on this climb, but he resisted the attacks and then won the Giro. In 2011, the Spaniard Mikel Nieve (Euskadi) was the first to cross the finish line of the 15th stage, Conegliano-Gardeccia (229 km). In second place, Stefano Garzelli (Acqua&Sapone); third, Alberto Contador (Saxo), who preceded Michele Scarponi by a few meters in a late comeback.
It is a selective route that concentrates 600 m of elevation gain in just 6.5 km (of which 5.94 km without flat stretches) with an average gradient of 9.6%. From the junction to Pera, the ascent to the hamlet of Muncion (1.5 km) begins immediately with sections reaching 15%. Leaving behind the picturesque village with magnificent views of Pozza, Cima Undici and Cima Dodici, the road descends slightly for about 500 m, levels out for another 500 m, and then rises again. The last 3 km are the toughest: the road narrows, the asphalt seems to pitch steeply, tackling very tough walls with gradients from 10% to 16% (average gradient 13%). Two hairpin bends are passed before riding on a long straight of about 1 km at 17%. Then the climb becomes gentler, the last 100 m are on dirt, and finally the locality of Gardeccia is reached.
