The Mortirolo Pass (el. 1852 m.) is a high mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 in the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Also known as Passo di Foppa, it connects Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km northeast of Milan and about 30 km northeast of Sondrio...

 and Val Camonica

Val Camonica

Val Camonica is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, about 90 km long. It starts from the Tonale Pass, at 1883 metres above sea level and ends at Corna Trentapassi, in the comune of Pisogne, near Lake Iseo...

. The road from Mazzo di Valtellina is one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...

, having been used in the Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 stage race many times.

In May 2004, while training in Italian Alps, Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong

Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...

 said that it was the hardest climb he had ever ridden.

Details of the climb

The mountain pass can be climbed by three roads, although the one from Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km northeast of Milan and about 30 km northeast of Sondrio...

 is the most famous and the only one climbed in Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 so far.

• From Mazzo di Valtellina
  Mazzo di Valtellina
  Mazzo di Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km northeast of Milan and about 30 km northeast of Sondrio...
  
  : The actual climb to the summit starts at Mazzo di Valtellina
  Mazzo di Valtellina
  Mazzo di Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km northeast of Milan and about 30 km northeast of Sondrio...
  
   and is 12.4 kilometres long at an average of 10.5% (height gain: 1300 m), the maximum gradient being 18%.

• From Grosio
  Grosio
  Grosio is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 130 km northeast of Milan and about 35 km northeast of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland...
  
  : The actual climb to the summit starts at Grosio
  Grosio
  Grosio is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 130 km northeast of Milan and about 35 km northeast of Sondrio, on the border with Switzerland...
  
   and is 14.8 kilometres long at an average of 8.3% (height gain: 1222 m).

• From Edolo
  Edolo
  Edolo is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, located in the High Camonica valley.The comune is bounded by other communes of Corteno Golgi, Incudine, Lovero , Malonno, Monno, Ponte di Legno, Saviore dell'Adamello, Sernio , Sonico, Temù, Tovo di Sant'Agata , Vezza d'Oglio,...
  
  : The actual climb to the summit starts at Edolo
  Edolo
  Edolo is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, located in the High Camonica valley.The comune is bounded by other communes of Corteno Golgi, Incudine, Lovero , Malonno, Monno, Ponte di Legno, Saviore dell'Adamello, Sernio , Sonico, Temù, Tovo di Sant'Agata , Vezza d'Oglio,...
  
   and is 17.2 kilometres long at an average of 6.7% (height gain: 1153 m).

Giro d'Italia

The Mortirolo Pass has been featured in Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 several times. The first time was in Stage 15 of 1990 Giro d'Italia

1990 Giro d'Italia

The 1990 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 73rd running of the race, was held from 18 May to 6 June 1990. It covered 3,450 km, for a total of 21 stages, and was completed at an average speed of 37.609 km/h....

, between Morbegno

Morbegno

Morbegno is a little town in the low Valtellina Valley in Italy, on the left side of the Adda river. It is part of the province of Sondrio of Lombardy. In 2007, Morbegno started a project to become a leader in sustainability, by involving the population in a participatory design process,...

 and Aprica

Aprica

Aprica is a town and comune in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is located on the eponymous pass, the most favourable one connecting Valtellina to Val Camonica.Its main activity is winter tourism.-External links:* * *...

, using the road from Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km northeast of Milan and about 30 km northeast of Sondrio...

.

Since Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...

 died in early 2004, stages of the Giro that go over Mortirolo feature a special prize to the first man at the top of the pass called Cima Pantani. A monument to deceased Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...

 was erected in 2006 by the Italian Professional Riders Association in the eighth kilometer of the road from Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina

Mazzo di Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km northeast of Milan and about 30 km northeast of Sondrio...

.

First rider passing Mortirolo in Giro d'Italia

Year	Name	Country	Stage	Side
1990 1990 Giro d'Italia The 1990 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 73rd running of the race, was held from 18 May to 6 June 1990. It covered 3,450 km, for a total of 21 stages, and was completed at an average speed of 37.609 km/h....	Leonardo Sierra Leonardo Sierra Leonardo Sierra Sepúlveda is a Venezuelan former road bicycle racer.-Palmarès:19881990Leonardo Sierra Sepúlveda is a Venezuelan former road bicycle racer.-Palmarès:1988...		17	Mazzo di Valtellina
1991 1991 Giro d'Italia The 1991 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 74th edition of the Corsa Rosa, was held from 26 May to 16 June 1991. It covered 3,715 km completed at an average speed of 37.03 km/h, for a total of 21 stages...	Franco Chioccioli Franco Chioccioli Franco Chioccioli is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.- Palmarès :1983...		15	Mazzo di Valtellina
1994 1994 Giro d'Italia The 1994 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 77th edition of the race, was held from 22 May to 12 June 1994, consisting of 22 stages. It covered a total of 3,738 km, completed at an average speed of 37.124 km/h...	Marco Pantani Marco Pantani Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...		15	Mazzo di Valtellina
1996 1996 Giro d'Italia The 1996 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 79th edition of the Corsa Rosa, was held from 18 May to 9 June 1996. It covered a total of 3,990 km, in 22 stages, completed at an average speed of 37.877 km/h...	Ivan Gotti Ivan Gotti Ivan Gotti is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist.Gotti was born at San Pellegrino Terme, Lombardy. He first came to prominence by finishing 5th overall in the 1995 Tour de France...		21	Mazzo di Valtellina
1997 1997 Giro d'Italia The 1997 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 80th running of the race, was held from 17 May to 8 June 1997. It covered a total of 3,912 km, in 22 stages, completed at an average speed of 38.017 km/h. It was won by the Italian Ivan Gotti.- General classification :...	Wladimir Belli Wladimir Belli Wladimir Belli is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional between 1992 and 2007.- Palmares :19901993...		21	Mazzo di Valtellina
1999 1999 Giro d'Italia The 1999 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 82nd edition of the race, was held from 15 May to 6 June 1999. It covered in 22 stages. It was won by the Italian Ivan Gotti....	Ivan Gotti Ivan Gotti Ivan Gotti is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist.Gotti was born at San Pellegrino Terme, Lombardy. He first came to prominence by finishing 5th overall in the 1995 Tour de France...		21	Mazzo di Valtellina
2004 2004 Giro d'Italia The 2004 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 87th running of the race, was held from 8 May to 30 May 2004, consisting of 21 stages for a total of 3,420 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.565 km/h. It was won by Damiano Cunego...	Raffaele Illiano Raffaele Illiano Raffaele Illiano is an Italian professional road racing cyclist.-Palmares:2003-References:...		19	Mazzo di Valtellina
2006 2006 Giro d'Italia The 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 6 May to 28 May 2006, and covered , beginning in the Belgian mining town of Seraing and ending in Milan...	Ivan Basso Ivan Basso Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...		20	Mazzo di Valtellina
2008 2008 Giro d'Italia The 2008 Giro d'Italia was the 91st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in Palermo on 10 May and ended in Milan on 1 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race, which was won by Spaniard Alberto Contador of the cycling team...	Toni Colom		20	Mazzo di Valtellina
2010 2010 Giro d'Italia The 2010 Giro d'Italia was the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Amsterdam on 8 May and stayed in the Netherlands for three stages, before leaving the country...	Ivan Basso Ivan Basso Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...		19	Mazzo di Valtellina

See also

• List of highest paved roads in Europe
• List of mountain passes

External links

• Mortirolo pass details by climbbybike.com