Today, the riders in the Giro d’Italia face a climb that has only recently been introduced to the race, but is already becoming one of the iconic climbs in the Italian race.
The Colle delle Finestre is a pass in the Cottian Alps, in the Italian region of Piemonte, Italy, linking Susa Valley and Val Chisone. The road was built around 1700 to gain access to the fortresses in the zone, mainly the Forte di Fenestrelle, and it rises to an altitude of 2,178 metres. This year, it will mark the highest point of the race, and therefore first over the top will receive the Cima Coppi prize.
What’s different about the climb is that the last 8 kilometres of the road from Susa are not asphalted, but instead are on a hard packed dirt road. From Susa the mountain pass is 18.6 kilometres long at an average gradient of 9.1%, and a height gain of 1694 metres. The maximum gradient being 12%.
The climb was first used in the Giro as recently as 2005, when Danilo di Luca was the first rider over the summit and Gilberto Simoni became the maglia rosa virtuale. Race leader Paolo Savoldelli used his descending skills to close the gap to the leaders and would eventually save his pink jersey, while Jose Rujano won the stage. The only other time it has been used to-date was in 2011 when Vasil Kiryienka was first over the top.
The General Classification for this year’s Giro may be sorted, as Alberto Contador has a lead of 4’37” over second placed Fabio Aru. However, there is potential for some great action on the climb, and if a rider does suffer a mechanical or other type of misfortune, it could cause complications on such a narrow climb. Also, Contador will be eager to win a stage, so we can expect fireworks on the Finestre.
Here’s footage from that stage in 2005 which used the Colle delle Finestre:
