Daniele

Period

From April

to October

STELVIO

For obvious reasons, The Stelvio, The King, is the one I love the most, but the climb that I recommend is the Cancano, the Princess, a climb to conquer. The climb of Cancano to the Towers of Fraele (1.954 m slm) is well known to mountain bikers, but in the past few years, having been completely paved, has become a destination for many road cyclists. It’s about 14k long, with a steady incline. Cancano is a plateau, situated at an altitude of about 2000 m slm, nestled in the mountains between Bormio, Livigno and Switzerland. There are 2 large artificial lakes, used to feed the nearby Premadio Hydroelectic plant. All around the lakes (Cancano II and S. Giacomo) is a dirt road, often used by mountain bikers. It’s a simple path, but beautiful. The ascent to the Towers of Fraele, starting from Bormio (1.225m slm) starts with the first stretch to Fior d’Alpe, which follows the state road 301 to Foscagno, with a gentle incline. Then the real climb begins with a series of hairpin turns that gain altitude and opens onto a panorama of the Valdidentro. You’ll travel a long and steady path to a picnic area, where the incline decreases. From this position you’ll have a wonderful view of the Towers of Fraele, a military outpost for the Bormio area. The last section is a series of hairpin turns, bringing you to 2 small tunnels, that lead to the base of the tower. The average incline of the climb is 6.9%, and the max incline is 8.5% for a total height difference of almost 800m.