The Tremola: Gotthard's cobbled hairpins at a steady 7%

The Tremola is the old road up the south side of the Gotthard Pass, from Airolo to 2,106 m, and it is unlike any other Alpine climb: a ladder of hairpins paved with granite cobbles. Ticino Tourism calls it Switzerland's longest memorial to road construction. The climbing itself is moderate, about 13.5 km at an average of 7%, but the last five kilometres are cobbled, and that changes everything. Here is how it rides, how to deal with the stones, and how to ride it on your trainer first.

The climb

MySwitzerland gives the Tremola an average of 7%, never more than 10% to the summit. Our track agrees: 13.6 km from Airolo at 1,167 m to the pass, and after the first kilometre every kilometre falls between 6.2% and 8.5%. Bellinzona e Valli Turismo counts 37 hairpin bends over about 900 m of climbing.

• Out of Airolo. The first kilometre is gentle, at under 4%, and then the gradient settles at 7–8% and stays there. On our track the steepest kilometre is 9%. This is a climb you can ride at one steady effort from bottom to top.
• The middle. From about 1 km to 8 km the road climbs at 7.1–8.5% with one easier kilometre at 6.2%. It is on tarmac here, so use it to settle into a rhythm and eat.
• The cobbled finish. MySwitzerland says the last five kilometres are cobbled. Ticino Tourism describes the most spectacular section as about 4 km long with around 24 bends, each with its own name, climbing about 300 m. The gradient barely changes, but the surface does: on cobbles every pedal stroke costs a little more, and the bends come one after another. The last few hundred metres to the pass flatten out.

How to ride the cobbles

Most riders take between 50 minutes and an hour and a half. It is a steady threshold-type effort, and the only real difficulty is the surface.

• Lower your tyre pressure. MySwitzerland describes the stones as neatly carved, but over five kilometres they still shake you. Wider tyres at a lower pressure ride them much better. Tyre pressure for cyclists has a starting point.
• Stay seated, hands relaxed. Seated, with a loose grip and a steady cadence, keeps the rear wheel gripping. Our Flanders cobbles guide covers the technique, which is the same here, only far longer.
• Pace for the whole climb. At a constant 7–8%, an even effort is easy to hold. Start at 85–90% of FTP and keep it there; pacing a climb with power explains why.
• Take care going down. On cobbles your braking distance is longer and the bends are tight. Brake before the bend, never in it, and avoid the stones when wet if you can.

Two centuries of road

According to Ticino Tourism, the pass road from Göschenen to Airolo was built between 1827 and 1830 to plans by the Ticino engineer Francesco Meschini, and the Tremola keeps the appearance it had after a reconstruction completed in 1951. It is 6 to 7 m wide, its retaining walls up to 8 m thick, and most of its granite cobbles and kilometre stones survive. MySwitzerland dates the cobbles themselves to 1937–1941, when hundreds of thousands of granite stones were laid. The road's history is also one of avalanches: Ticino Tourism records that one road inspector's house was destroyed by an avalanche in 1874 and never rebuilt, because the Gotthard Railway opened in 1882.

For cyclists the Tremola has been a race road for a long time. MySwitzerland says the Tour de Suisse has used it almost 40 times since 1933.

When to go, and what to watch for

• Season. The pass road closes for the winter. The Federal Roads Office decides the closure with the Canton of Uri when snow and frost make it unsafe; the road tunnel stays open. Check that the pass is open before you plan a spring or autumn ride.
• Stay on the Tremola. A 17 km tunnel, opened in 1980, carries most of the transit traffic, and MySwitzerland notes that the main road over the pass is forbidden to cyclists. The Tremola is the way up and down on the south side.
• Make it a crossing. Bellinzona e Valli Turismo's San Gottardo tour starts in Airolo, climbs the Tremola and continues over the pass to Hospental and Andermatt along the Reuss, following the red signs of North–South Route no. 3. At the top, the National Museum of the San Gottardo covers the history of the pass roads.
• More passes. The Gotthard sits among some of Switzerland's best climbs. Our Grimsel Pass guide covers another, and your first Alps trip in one week helps you plan several.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Airolo up the Tremola to the pass, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces the gradient as you ride, and the world around you is built from map data of the real place. The Tremola is so even that it is an ideal climb for practising a long, steady threshold effort: no steep ramps, no rest, just a constant 7–8% for nearly an hour.

Ride it early in your build and again before your trip, and compare your average power on the two saved rides. On the real road, expect the cobbled finish to feel harder than the numbers say. Prefer your own device? Download the GPX above and load it into any app that rides GPX files.

The short version

About 13.5 km from Airolo to the Gotthard Pass at 2,106 m, at an average of 7% and never above 10%, with the last five kilometres on granite cobbles. Lower your tyre pressure, stay seated and relaxed, and hold one steady effort. Ride the Tremola both ways, because the main road is closed to cyclists, and check that the pass is open before you go.