The Mortirolo Pass (Italian: Passo del Mortirolo) (el. 1852 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in Italy. Also known as Passo della Foppa, it connects Mazzo di Valtellina (province of Sondrio) and Val Camonica (province of Brescia). The road from Mazzo di Valtellina is one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing, having been used in the Giro d'Italia stage race many times.

Mortirolo Pass
Elevation1,852 m (6,076 ft)
LocationSondrio/Brescia (Lombardy), Italy
RangeItalian Alps
Coordinates46°14′53″N 10°17′57″E / 46.24802°N 10.299143°E / 46.24802; 10.299143
Mortirolo Pass is located in Alps
Mortirolo Pass
Mortirolo Pass
Location of Mortirolo Pass

In May 2004, while training in Italian Alps, Lance Armstrong said that it was the hardest climb he had ever ridden.[1]

Details of the climb

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The mountain pass can be climbed from four different starting points, although the road departing from Mazzo di Valtellina is the most famous and only twice the Giro d'Italia climbed the mountain from alternative sides.

  • From Mazzo di Valtellina: the actual climb to the summit starts at Mazzo di Valtellina and is 12.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1300 m), the maximum gradient being 18%.[2]
  • From Grosio: the actual climb to the summit starts at Grosio and is 14.8 kilometres long at an average of 8.3% (height gain: 1222 m).[3]
  • From Edolo: the actual climb to the summit starts at Edolo and is 17.2 kilometres long at an average of 6.7% (height gain: 1153 m).[4]
  • From Tovo di Sant'Agata: the actual climb to the summit starts at Tovo and is 11.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1194 m).[5]

Giro d'Italia

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Monument to Marco Pantani.

The Mortirolo Pass featured several times in the Giro d'Italia, usually as the last or penultimate climb before the finish. The first time was in Stage 15 of the 1990 Giro d'Italia, between Morbegno and Aprica, starting from Edolo. Due to the steepness of the descent and the crashes that were occurring, the organisers decided to climb this mountain starting from Mazzo in subsequent years.[citation needed]

Since the death of Marco Pantani in 2004, stages of the Giro that go over the Mortirolo feature a special prize to the first man at the top of the pass, called Cima Pantani ("Pantani Top"). A monument to Marco Pantani was erected in 2006 by the Italian Professional Riders Association at the eighth kilometre of the road from Mazzo di Valtellina. [6]

First rider passing Mortirolo in Giro d'Italia

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Year Name Country Stage Side
1990 Leonardo Sierra   Venezuela 17 Edolo
1991 Franco Chioccioli   Italy 15 Mazzo di Valtellina
1994 Marco Pantani   Italy 15 Mazzo di Valtellina
1996 Ivan Gotti   Italy 21 Mazzo di Valtellina
1997 Wladimir Belli   Italy 21 Mazzo di Valtellina
1999 Ivan Gotti   Italy 21 Mazzo di Valtellina
2004 Raffaele Illiano   Italy 19 Mazzo di Valtellina
2006 Ivan Basso   Italy 20 Mazzo di Valtellina
2008 Toni Colom   Spain 20 Mazzo di Valtellina
2010 Ivan Basso   Italy 19 Mazzo di Valtellina
2012 Oliver Zaugg   Switzerland 20 Tovo di Sant'Agata
2015 Steven Kruijswijk   Netherlands 16 Mazzo di Valtellina
2017 Luis León Sánchez   Spain 16 Edolo
2019 Giulio Ciccone   Italy 16 Mazzo di Valtellina
2022 Koen Bouwman   Netherlands 16 Edolo
2024 Christian Scaroni   Italy 15 Edolo

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lance, meet the Mortirolo
  2. ^ Mortirolo
  3. ^ Mortirolo
  4. ^ Mortirolo
  5. ^ "20ª tappa: Mappa e info percorso - Giro d'Italia 2011 - Gazzetta dello Sport"".
  6. ^ Bianchi Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
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