Passo Giau: 29 hairpins and 10 km that never let up

Passo Giau is 2,236 m high, and from Selva di Cadore it is one of the most demanding roads in the Dolomites. The Giro d'Italia gives this side 9.9 km at 9.3%, with 918 m of climbing and 29 hairpins. What makes it unusual is not its steepest ramp but how relentless it is: once it starts, it barely changes. In 2026 it was the Cima Coppi, the highest point of the Giro. Here is how the climb is built, how to pace it, and how to make a day of it.

The climb: nine kilometres that never let up

Our track runs 10.4 km from the village at 1,337 m to the pass, with 918 m of climbing, the same height gain the Giro publishes. The local tourism consortium of Alleghe and Caprile starts its timed version in Selva at 1,354 m and measures it at 10.1 km and 9.1%. All the official figures agree on the shape.

• The first kilometre. On our track the road leaves the village almost flat, at 1%. The consortium says the climb begins "immediately after the square" of Selva. Enjoy the last flat road you will see for an hour.
• The forest. Then it hits. Our track's steepest kilometre, 10.9%, is the first proper one, and the next five run between 8.5 and 10.4%. This is the forest of firs where, according to the consortium, the gradients are hardest, reaching nearly 16% at their worst; the Giro and the Maratona dles Dolomites give 14% and 15%. The Giro notes the steepest ramps are mainly in the opening section. There are also several small tunnels.
• Above Rifugio Fedare. Past the Fedare hut the consortium describes milder slopes and long bends to the summit. On our track that "milder" is still 9.0–9.3% per kilometre; it just feels gentler because the trees open, the hairpins grow longer and the meadows and peaks around the pass come into view.

How to pace it

Most fit amateurs need between 50 minutes and an hour and a half. That puts the Giau in the range where an even, threshold-type effort is right for strong riders and a firm tempo for everyone else.

• Pick your number in the first steep kilometre. Because the climb barely changes after it, the power you choose there is the power you will ride for the rest. Somewhere around 90% of FTP suits a fit rider; if the Giau is the first big climb of a long day, go lower. Our guide to pacing a climb with power explains how to pick it.
• Don't wait for the easy bit. Riders who go deep in the forest expecting relief above Fedare find another four kilometres at 9%. Keep the effort below your limit until the last two kilometres.
• Gear for an hour of 9–10%. A 34×30 is the minimum most amateurs will want; a 34×32 or 34 keeps your cadence up when you tire. See gearing for climbing.
• Eat before Selva. There is no easy stretch to eat on, so arrive fuelled and drink on the hairpins.

Why the Giau matters

The Giro first crossed the Giau in 1973, when José Manuel Fuente, one of the few climbers who could challenge Eddy Merckx, won the stage from Andalo to Auronzo. In recent years, in the Giro's own words, it has become a key point of the race and often decisive. In 2021, in cold rain, Egan Bernal attacked on it in the pink jersey, dropped his rivals and all but won the race there. In 2026 it was the Cima Coppi, on the stage from Feltre to Alleghe.

Amateurs know it from the Maratona dles Dolomites, the mass-participation ride whose long course of 138 km and 4,230 m crosses the Giau before climbing from Pocol to Valparola. The organiser's 106 km and 55 km courses leave it out, and by its own figures the Giau's 9.3% is the steepest average of any pass on the route.

Planning the ride

• The Giau–Falzarego loop. The Alleghe consortium describes a 49.4 km loop from Selva di Cadore: up the Giau, down to Pocol above Cortina, left up the Falzarego, then down through two small tunnels towards Cernadoi and Pieve di Livinallongo and back via Colle Santa Lucia, with Monte Pelmo in view. It is the best way to ride the Giau.
• Traffic. On fine summer days expect cars and motorbikes on the hairpins. Go early.
• The descent to Pocol. It is fast, and the road is shared with traffic climbing up. See descending faster and safer.
• More of the Dolomites. Our guide to the Dolomites by bike covers where to stay and how to link the passes.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Selva di Cadore to the pass. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces its gradient, and the world around you is built from map data of the real place. The Giau is close to an ideal indoor test: nine kilometres of nearly constant gradient, with nowhere to hide and no descents to recover on. Ride it as a long threshold effort and you will learn what an hour at your limit really feels like.

Each ride is saved with its power data, so you can compare your times and watts as your training builds. It runs in the browser and in the Mac and Windows apps. Prefer another app? Download the GPX above.

The short version

About 10 km and 918 m from Selva di Cadore to 2,236 m, with 29 hairpins and almost every kilometre between 9 and 11%. Pick your effort in the first steep kilometre and hold it, because the slopes above Rifugio Fedare are only a little kinder. Ride it as part of the Giau–Falzarego loop, and go early to beat the traffic.