Palaronda Road Bike Tour

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Fiera di Primiero

Starting from the Bus station in Fiera di Primiero, proceed north along the banks of the river Canali. Then, take the main road SS del Passo Cereda from where it is about 8 km to the pass. At the end of the first kilometre (slightly uphill), the road suddenly becomes very challenging for the next 2 km, with gradients close to 15%, as far as the fork with Val Canali. From here, turn right, continue a steady uphill climb for the last 5 km (there is a more challenging stretch of about 600-700 metres, between 10% and 12% gradient before the final bends which cut across the meadows just below the Pass). The descent into the little town of Sagron-Mis is short, but after a few hundred metres, it becomes steep and fast with a couple of sharp bends where extra care should be taken. After the last houses in the village, near the boundary between Trentino and Veneto, there is a fairly easy cycling stretch which goes through several small villages as far as Gosaldo (there is a steep drop down into the village with over 20% gradient for about 300m). At Gosaldo, turn left after the church and go straight up the hill towards Forcella Aurine, with a few challenging stretches in the first kilometre which flatten out as you ascend; total ascent of 3 km. When you see the ski lifts on the right, a fantastic 14 km descent starts on a wide road with long bends interspersed with fast straight sections. When you get to the bottom, there is a big roundabout (Luxottica factory on the right). Here, you can decide whether to go through the centre of Agordo or turn left and follow a secondary road which, after a couple of kilometres, joins up with the main road, the S.S. Agordina at Taibon Agordino. Stay on the main road for about 2 km and then, turn left just before the tunnel on the old road towards Cencenighe. When you get to the village, turn left at the first crossroads towards Falcade and turn immediately left again before the tunnel, going up the old road (where there is a short, but quite dark tunnel). At this point, you rejoin the main road, going uphill towards Falcade, passing through the small villages of Mas and Canale d’Agordo. Once you get to the Falcade centro, continue on towards Passo Valles, turning left about 1.5 km after the village of Falcade Alto. A continuous eight-km uphill stretch begins now with gradients around 8-10%. There is only one short stretch before the Pass where the road flattens out slightly for about 1 km before going over the top. The descent starts with a very technical stretch in the first part with tight hairpin bends which are great fun as far as Malga Vallazza before straightening out and becoming faster as far as the two hairpin bends which slow you down at the fork with Val Venegia. From here, go straight on for another 3 km in the direction of Paneveggio-Predazzo. After the descent, turn left towards Passo Rolle, seven fairly straight kilometres with a gradient of about 6-7%. Go over the top of Passo Rolle and start the long 23km descent which takes you to Fiera di Primiero, passing through San Martino di Castrozza after about 9 km, with a fantastic, occasionally technical descent, although the road is wide with no major obstacles.