Passo Mendola

Show on Map

Passo Mendola

If up to Mendola you can keep a certain pace, the last 4 kilometres are optional, but while you climb you’d best forget how strenuous they are. The climb starts from the square in Brez and the road up to Mendola does not demand too much effort. The first kilometre is almost flat. Then there are two kilometres with a slope of 7%. After the first effort, you can again pedal smoothly for another 3 kilometres, with the upper Val di Non showing off all its beauty. The towns of Fondo, Malosco and Ronzone atop large hills are the stage of Trofeo Melinda, a race of champions, and the reign of the apple, Queen of Val di Non.  Continuing to ride, the stretch from the 6th to the 10th km is quite demanding, but the slope is never excessive and the climb proves doable. Then the road slopes down to the pass that connects Val di Non with Bolzano and Valle dell’Adige. The fun part starts here. You climb on a tarmac road through the woods. There are about ten hairpin turns, one after the other. The steepest slope is in the central part, around 16 percent, but the entire ascent is an average 10%. Before arriving at the top, a stretch of apparently flat ground allows you to breathe. You will need strong lungs for the final effort that is rewarded by a wonderful view. The space is lost in a backdrop of mountains: the Dolomites, Adamello, Ortles-Cevedale. And you soon forget how tiresome the climb was.