
Location: Trentino-Alto. Adig, Dolomites
Departure: Sdruzzina
Length: 14.1km
Altitude: 1,393m
Height Gain: 1,233m
Average Gradient: 8.8%
Maximum Gradient: 20.0%
The difficult-to-find village of Sdruzzina effectively marks the beginning of the 14.1 kilometre climb up the Passo Fittanze della Sega. A brute of a climb, boasting an 8.8% average gradient, it virtually assaults you the moment you turn sharply onto the narrow SS11 road.

Rising again, even more steeply than
before, my 8 kilometre per hour speed around the road’s relentless hairpins
was a sobering reminder of what, up until now, had been a very formidable
climb. With a height of only 1,392 metres, it might seem a dwarf compared to
its northern counterparts, Gavia, Stelvio and the Tre Cime de Lavaredo; but there’s no disputing
the pass's steeper average gradient, made all the more daunting when you factor
in its more gentile approach to the summit.
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Still early in the ride, the view back down the valley road. |
Leaving the steep forest slopes behind,
the lush, green meadows of Sega di Ala appeared for the very first
time. With the gradient easing off and
in full view of Monte Lessini’s spectacular summit to the
east, the strain of the previous 90 minutes had all but dissipated.
A far cry from Passo Stelvio’s
marketable summit, there not a great deal of fanfare at the top of the pass, apart from a cosy small bar and eatery,
and a war memorial to the fallen soldiers of the 1st and 2nd World Wars.
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The war memorial at the top of the pass. |
Though the Passo delle Fittanze has yet to make an appearance in the Giro d'Italia, according to Italian cyclist Damiano Cunego, it's "right up there on a par with the Mortirolo". Now having tasted both, I intend to agree with him. Longer and not much less steeper, it's certainly not far behind.
Books by Mark Krieger:
‘High Spain Drifter’ is available on Amazon , Barnes and Noble, Booktopia and other online bookstores.
‘Lycra, Lattes and the Long Way Round’ is available on Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books
Both books are also available at local bookshops on the Mornington Peninsula: @ Rosebud Bookbarn and @ La Brocante
“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I
do not despair for the future of the human race.” H. G.
Wells
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