Tre Cime di Lavaredo: 7 km from Misurina and a 12% finish

The Tre Cime di Lavaredo are three towers of rock, the highest just short of 3,000 m, and the road from Lago di Misurina takes you to the foot of them. It is short. The Giro d'Italia gives 7.2 km and 547 m of climbing. But it ends with four kilometres at an average of 12%, with ramps of 18%, and few finishes in the Dolomites look like this one. Here is how the climb is built, how to pace a short, steep effort, and what you need to know about the toll road.

The climb: a warm-up, a lake and a wall

Our track runs 7.5 km from Lago di Misurina at 1,749 m to the end of the road below Rifugio Auronzo, 604 m of climbing in all, because it loses height on the way to Lago d'Antorno and has to climb it again. The Giro's description fits it closely.

• Out of Misurina. The first kilometre along the lake is almost flat on our track. Then comes the first steep stretch: the Giro says the road averages over 10% for the first 1.5 km of the climb proper, and our track has 10.3% between km 1 and 2. Don't fight it; it is the warm-up.
• Lago d'Antorno. A short drop and a flat stretch past the small lake at Antorno, then an easier kilometre at about 4%. Just after the lake the toll road begins. Use this to recover, shift down and drink.
• The last four kilometres. The Giro describes the final four kilometres as climbing "constantly at 12%". Our track has 11.7, 13.5, 12.2 and 12.9% for its last kilometres, with a steepest kilometre of 14.7%. The road ends at Rifugio Auronzo, which the Dolomiti tourism portal puts at 2,333 m.

How to pace it

From Misurina, most fit amateurs take somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes. That is short enough to tempt you into riding it like a 20-minute test, and steep enough to punish you for trying.

• Save it for after Antorno. Ride the first ramp below threshold and treat the lake as a reset. The real climb is the last four kilometres, roughly 20 to 30 minutes for most riders, and that is where to spend your effort: around threshold, rising a little in the last kilometre if you can. Our guide to pacing a climb with power explains how.
• Gear for 12%, with 18% in reserve. At these gradients a 34×32 or 34×34 keeps most amateurs turning at a sustainable cadence. See gearing for climbing.
• Stand on the steepest ramps, sit on the rest. Standing briefly changes the load on your legs; sitting saves energy.
• Dress for 2,300 m. The top is high and exposed, and you will cool quickly. Carry a jacket for the way down.

Where Merckx began

The Giro first finished at the Tre Cime in 1967, and it ended in farce: spectators pushed riders up the mountain and some held on to cars and motorbikes. Felice Gimondi won the stage, but the organisers cancelled it for the overall classification. The race came back in 1968, on the 213 km stage from Gorizia. In the rain, Eddy Merckx attacked on the final climb, closed a nine-minute gap on a 16-man breakaway and won by a wide margin. Gimondi, the defending champion, finished six minutes down. Merckx took the pink jersey and kept it to Naples. It was his first Grand Tour win.

In 1974 José Manuel Fuente won here, but Merckx held on to win the Giro by 12 seconds over Gianbattista Baronchelli. And in 2013, in a snowstorm, Vincenzo Nibali came out of the blizzard at the Tre Cime the day before the race finished in Brescia, with the Giro won.

Before you go

• The toll road. The road from just after Lago d'Antorno to Rifugio Auronzo, about 6 km, is a toll road for motor vehicles, and since its 2026 reopening every vehicle must book online in advance, with a ticket valid for 12 hours. The published price list covers cars, motorbikes, campers and buses and says nothing about bicycles, so check with the Comune di Auronzo's parking service before you go.
• Season. According to the Dolomiti tourism portal, the road is generally open from late May to October, and access can be suspended because of snow or other hazards.
• Traffic. The road ends at the main car park for the Tre Cime, so expect cars on fine summer days. Go early.
• At the top. The road is a dead end, so you descend the way you came. The walk around the three peaks, about 10 km from Rifugio Auronzo, is the most famous in the area, and the trenches and tunnels of the First World War front, which ran through here from 1915 to 1917, are still visible. Pack walking shoes if you want to stay.
• More climbs nearby. On other days, ride the Falzarego or the Giau. See the Dolomites by bike.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Misurina to the foot of the Tre Cime, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces that gradient, and the world around you is built from map data of the real place. The Tre Cime makes an excellent indoor session: a gentle start, a short rest at the lake, then four kilometres at 12% that show you exactly how well you can hold your threshold when the gradient never lets up.

The ride is saved with its power data, so you can repeat it every few weeks and watch your time on the last four kilometres come down. It runs in the browser and in the Mac and Windows apps. Prefer another device? Download the GPX above.

The short version

About 7 km and 550 m from Lago di Misurina, with a steep start, a breather at Lago d'Antorno and four kilometres at 12% to Rifugio Auronzo at the foot of the peaks. Ride gently to the lake, then give it everything you can hold. It is a toll road for motor vehicles, so check the access rules before you go.