King of the Mountains

My thanks to Peter Thomson of Thomson Bike Tours for the use of photos from their "King of the Mountains" bike tour.

Approaching the Passo Sella:

Climbing the Passo Duron:

Typical Dolomites scenery:

Close to the top of Passo Gavia:

Spectacular scenery on the Sella Ronda:

The breathtaking Passo Gardena:

Get used to climbing!

Lots of support:

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page .

Basso, Pellizotti Test Zoncolan Stage

Yesterday, Basso and Pellizotti, also accompanied by Croatian 23 year old climber Robert Kiserlovski, tested the last 90 kilometers of the crucial part of the 218 km Mestre-Zoncolan stage 15 scheduled for May 23rd.

They rode four "colli": the Sella Chianzulan at 954 m, the Passo Duron at 1076 m with its 4.3 km at 10% with a maximum of 18%, the Sella Valcalda at 958 m, and only the initial part, due to snow, of the Zoncolan whose last 10 km are at 11.9% with a maximum at 22%.

Basso reported, "Duron is challenging in the beginning and the descent is insidious, there are many delicate sections. The Zoncolan I already know, it was important to see the parts I do not know."

"That day I want to be a leader," was the promise of Pellizotti. This is Pellizotti's second test of the stage, see first test report here from November.

You can read the cycling experience of riding up the Zoncolan by two mere mortals here.

Photos: on the test ride; Zoncolan profile (click to enlarge)

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondo, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,200 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Pellizotti Recons Giro's Stage 15

With 200 days to go to stage 15 of the 2010 Giro d'Italia, Franco Pellizotti (3rd in the Giro and the winner of the Tour de France polka dot jersey in 2009) did a 70 km reconnaissance ride of the stage with some cycling pros plus 90 amateurs. The recon took in the Passo Duron but stopped short of the Passo Zoncolan. During the race the 218 Km Stage 15 from Mestre to Monte Zoncolan will include, in this order: Sella Chianzutan (955 m), Passo Duron (1069 m), Sella Valcalda (958 m), and Monte Zoncolan (1730 m, 10.1 km in length,1, 1200 m of elevation gain, average grade 11.9 maximum grade 22%).

"It was not my first time on the Passo Duron" said Pellizotti. "This is a very challenging climb, about 5-6 miles, with gradients of up to 19 percent, and arriving at an altitude of 1069 meters. The beginning is hard, in the middle it moderates but remain challenging, and the last mile is back to 15 percent. When you take it, is narrow, then widens, then narrows. A beautiful road. I did it in an agile gear, a 39x27."

Pellizotti's last race of the season was the mid-September Tour of Missouri. Since then he's been on vacation. His training, on the bike and in the gym, for the 2010 season begins approximately one week from now. Saying that his training for 2010 should follow 2009 by beginning calmly, "I found myself well, I gained important results. My intention is to ride the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France again."

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal welcome; contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,000 stories in this blog; the search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog.