The Giro d’Italia, the famous bike race across Italy, will this year not lead along the Stelvio Pass due to elevated avalanche risk on the picturesque Italian mountain pass. The Stelvio Pass connects the Upper Valtellina with South Tyrol in Italy and has a summer-only ski resort at the heart of the pass, called Passo Stelvio. The spectacular, winding mountain road was referred to as “the greatest driving road in the world” by Jeremy Clarkson on the TV show Top Gear.
The pass is typically the highlight of the Giro d’Italia, reaching a staggering 2,757 meters (9,045 feet) above sea level, second only to Col de l’Iseran in the French side of the Alps which typically features on the Tour de France, reaching 2,764 meters (9,068 feet) above sea level at peak altitude.
Work to clear the famous mountain pass started weeks ago but high snowfall for the season as well as recent May snowfall has meant that while most of the access road is clear, the avalanche danger is simply too high to allow athletes the arduous journey over the mountain pass. Snow depth at Passo Stelvio has been reported to be at 3 meters (10 feet) as of, May 5, and there is another 9 inches in the forecast for this week. Clearing the Stelvio Pass is ardurous and also dangerous work. Last year, a member of the Italian Alpine Rescue who was helping clear the road for the opening, fell 165 feet to his death.
- Related: Passo Stelvio Summer-Only Ski Area in Italy Planning to Open Early Thanks to 10 Feet of Snow
Olaf Reinstadler, head of the local avalanche commission, told the Italian news agency ANSA on Friday, May 10, that while the majority of the road was clear, the race could not go via the Stelvio Pass due to the avalanche risks posed by the banks of snow on the roadside.
“On the Stelvio, the danger of avalanches is too high for the Giro caravan to cross it. The problem isn’t the road, but the fact that the slopes above it are still full of snow. With the rising temperatures in these days, there could be sudden breaks in the banks of snow.”
— Olaf Reinstadler
The Giro d’Italia will now lead through the Swiss side over the Umbrail Pass at 2,489 meters (8,166 feet) which loops around the Stelvio Pass.
