Como, Stelvio & Dolomites Cycling Tour

We start this week with a light spin to Argegno as our first ride and it’s the perfect introduction to Italy and the Italian lakes. You make your way out of the quintessential Lombardian town of Como and along the small road that hugs the iconic lake, with its spectacular surrounding mountains.

With undulating terrain the whole way, this ride should blow the cobwebs out of your legs after your travels and also give you the chance to test your bike set-up and make any micro adjustments to the bike as you need.

Highlight: Rolling along the edge of the lake with the alps in the background.
Distance: 40km
Elevation: 600m

It’s time for you to enjoy a full taste of the Lombardian country side. As we roll out of town and through the little villages and into the forest, we head towards the tip of the peninsula and the town of Bellagio, where we’ll stop for a caffe and take in the postcard perfect view. We’ll then take on the main challenge of the day, the 10.6k climb with 5.2% average up to the church of Madonna di Ghisallo, the patroness of cyclists, where we’ll stop for lunch and visit the church, the Museo del Ciclismo.

We’ll then take the mostly downhill backroads back into Como, and our hotel.

Highlight: The little church dedicated to the patron saint of cyclists sitting on top of a hill overlooking the lake below.
Distance: 92km
Elevation: 1680m

Today you’ll conquer another one of cycling’s legendary climbs, the Muro di Sormano. We’ll start with an undulating warm up along the edge of the lake, before a right hand turn starts the hairpins, climbing and utterly sunning vistas. We keep climbing through the bosco (forest) until we reach the summit. We’ll regroup here for a coffee and panino, before a fast and fun descent for the return journey, heading directly to Como.

Highlight: Tackling the steep sections of the Muro
Distance: 65km
Elevation: 1550m

We say goodbye to Como today as we undertake our first transfer to Bormio. We will stop in Tirano for a light snack, as we unload the bikes and then take on Passo Mortirolo, with its mercilessly steep gradients that hit 18% and average 10.4% for the duration. Once reaching the top, we will regroup and then descend and ride into Bormio and our home for the next two nights.

Highlight:
Distance: 59km
Elevation: 2180m

After an early start and transfer to Bormio, it’ll be time for you to take on the iconic Passo dello Stelvio, sitting at an imposing 2750m. This is a climb like no other. With its 34 switchbacks, and at one point a 14%, it will challenge the mind and the legs, and open your heart. After passing the waterfall, you enter the Valle del Braulio and the expanse of open melting white, surrounded by two peaks. On a quiet day, you’ll encounter marmots waking up after a long winter and scurrying out of your way, as you press on past the Umbrail Pass and up another ramp to get to the top of the pass. We’ll stop for a coffee and take in our surrounds, as we peer down in the direction of Prato and it’s 48 switchbacks, deciding if today’s the day to go long. This is a long and technical descent.

Highlight: Conquering the epic Stelvio
Distance: 50km or 95k
Elevation: 1560m or 3455m

Today you’ll conquer another one of cycling’s legendary climbs, starting by heading towards Santa Caterina, which rises 600m before we even reach the base of the climb. You’ll have a few switchbacks to take care of early, before you ride along the edge of the mountain that sharply drops away before dramatically rising on the other side of a ravine.

Highlight: This is a truly spectacular landscape and possibly our favourite.
Distance: 60km
Elevation: 1800m

This is one of our favourite days on the bike. We roll out and start the first of our three ascents for the day, Passo di Campolongo. We all find our own rhythm and set about rolling over the top, before a fast 15km descent and the task of conquering the challenges of Colle Santa Lucia, Passo Giau, Passo Falzarego and Passo Valparola. After stopping to regroup and take in the amazing view of the valley below, we have a final 14km’s of utter joy left, as we descend into the valley and our villa below.

Highlight: The imposing peaks as you reach the top of the Passo Giau and Passo Falzarego.
Distance: 83km
Elevation: 2496m

This is a superb day of climbing and descending on our Sella Ronda cycling experience, with spectacular landscape everywhere you turn.

Today we are either going up or going down, with four distinct passes. We start with a short and slight descent to the south, before our first challenge of Passo di Gardena, followed by Passo di Sella, Passo Pordoi and finishing with the beautiful, free flowing descent of Passo di Campolongo.

Highlight: The feeling of complete contentment after completing the truly beautiful iconic Sella Ronda cycling experience.
Distance: 61km
Elevation: 1800m