Climbing The Colle delle Finestre…
My first “true” climb in the Alps on my 2018 trip. On difficulty it is the hardest climb on the Passes Project coming in at 9.4% average over 1669m of elevation gain, wow!
It first hit my radar in May watching one of the most epic attacks in history by Chris Froome in the Giro d’Italia. He launched off the front of the peloton as they hit the dirt roads about about 8Km up the climb. An audacious attack meant to wrest the Maglia Rosa from Sean Yates and deliver a knockout blow to his other rivals…and it was sublime. I knew I was going to the Alps that summer and that I simply had to ride this legend.
The reality is that I’d slept in Charles deGaulle Airport waiting for my train to Grenoble, sat on a train for a few hours, drove a few more and rode a bit of a climb across the valley from Alpe d’Huez, slept a bit, drove a few more hours to the start….which is the long way to say – not my best day! I knew that when the little cyclo-tourist woman passed me just before the dirt started. She was chatting away to her friend as they pedaled on by. I was stoked to see the water stop.
I started in Oulx for a downhill start to my ride. I stopped for a cafe and croissant in Susa and felt completely happy! On a solo vacation and riding in big mountains. Delirious at the prospect of climbing a big pass and then another.
The climb hits hard from the base, jumping above 10% in the first couple hundred meters and it rarely lets off the rest of the way. If memory serves I was rolling on a 52×36 and probably an 11-28, maybe a 30. It was 2018, so i was still pretty strong, so the 28 seems plausible…but I hope it was a 30, that I was smart enough to bring a 30.
The switchbacks start about 3 fdmiles up, 23 in a row over the next mile. 2 more miles of pavement bring you to the previously mentioned water stop and the end of the pavement. This is where Froome attacked, 4 miles and 2000′ from the summit.
I finally stepped out of the “climb like you’re serious” mindset on the dirt and just enjoyed the experience. Views like the one above are truly a gift…very far from my everyday. Then I heard the bells…
Cows! A big ‘ol herd of cows 2/3rds the way up the Finiestre. It was awesome! At the end of vhe video you can see the top fo the climb at the edge of the blue sky, a bit of the pass visible high and center left a bit. Still a long way to go!
I trudged on. The road gradually opening above me. Surprisingly I averaged 215W for the 2+ hours it took to climb. Surprising because I find that my power is typically awful on long climbs. Fear? Nerves? Altitude? Not sure..but I’ve never truly attacked a big mountain pass full gas (yet).
Above is from the top or pretty close to it. 2176m of climbing fun.
Bomber descent, respecting the mountain and not going too fast. Then onto the Sestriere climb, the “easy” summit. It wasn’t too bad really, but I was pretty cooked by the time I found a little resturant serving lunch in the quiet ski village. A final plunge down to my start town and the day was done. Not impressive by the numbers, it still ranks as one of my all-time favorite rides and a definite top 5 climb all time.
The 411:
