From May to September, the Alps’ most iconic passes take centre stage for riders of every level and style
For cycling enthusiasts, Bormio is more than just a destination – it’s a landmark, a place where the roads and the climbs carry a different kind of weight. To climb the Stelvio, the Gavia or the Mortirolo is to share the same tarmac as Pantani, Coppi and Contador. The Mortirolo is already open and welcoming the season’s first riders, while the Stelvio and Gavia are expected to open in the coming weeks, marking the moment when Bormio’s great cycling summer truly begins.
The Valtellina gem offers, as ever, one of the richest calendars in the Alps for riders of every level and style: granfondos such as the Stelvio Santini, car-free passes reserved exclusively for cyclists through Enjoy Stelvio Valtellina, and personal challenges stretching across an entire season, like the Stelvio Epic Rides.
FOUR MONTHS OF EVENTS AND ROADS MADE FOR BIKES
The backdrop to the entire summer is Enjoy Stelvio Valtellina, a free, non-competitive initiative running from 30 May to 19 September, offering a calendar of road closures to motor traffic on the great passes of Sondrio province, returning them to cyclists and walkers alike. No timing chips, no rankings: just the pleasure of experiencing these roads, and everything around them, in their purest form.
The program hits its stride in early June: the 5th sees the Gavia Pass (2,618 m) take centre stage, with its narrow carriageway and sweeping valley views; on 8 June, it’s the turn of the Cancano Lakes, with 21 switchbacks climbing to 1,946 m; on 9 June, the Mortirolo from Mazzo, 12.4 km averaging over 10% gradient with pitches beyond 20%, a climb steeped in cycling history. The month closes on 28 June with the Spluga Pass, rising to 2,115 m at the Swiss border. July and August bring further dates on the Cancano, Mortirolo and Gavia, before the Stelvio rounds off the entire season in style on 19 September.
For those seeking competition, the action begins on 7 June with the Stelvio Santini. Alongside the three classic road routes – short (64 km), medium (108 km) and long (130 km with 4,270 m of climbing) – this year marks the debut of a gravel course, with two routes of 44 and 70 km winding through forests and clearings between Bormio and the Cancano Lakes.
On 20 June, the Alpi 4000 takes to the road, a randonnée that, in the year of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, has been reimagined with 14 stages and over 400 km stretching from Bormio deep into the UNESCO Dolomites, taking in the Stelvio, Gavia, Mortirolo, Pordoi and Falzarego.
From 26 to 28 June, the Mogast celebrates its tenth anniversary with the formula that has earned it cult status: the Mortirolo, Gavia and Stelvio all in a single day, 157 km and over 5,200 m of climbing in the road version and 121 km with around 4,200 m of elevation gain for the gravel. On 12 July, the Re Stelvio Mapei reaches its 41st edition, drawing over 3,000 cyclists and runners onto the 21 km climb to the Stelvio at 2,758 m.
Closing the circle on 29 August, the Stelvio Bike Day offers the Stelvio closed on all three sides – free to enter, no registration required – for anyone who wants to tackle those 21 km to the summit on their own terms.
STELVIO EPIC RIDES: TEN CLIMBS, ONE DEEPLY PERSONAL CHALLENGE
There’s a way to turn an entire Bormio summer into one great adventure: it’s called the Stelvio Epic Rides. Ten climbs to complete over the course of the season, at your own pace, with no deadlines and no rankings. This is not a race, but a challenge with yourself, set against the backdrop of the Stelvio National Park.
The three iconic climbs – Stelvio, Gavia and Mortirolo – need no introduction, while the other seven are waiting to be discovered: the Cancano Lakes with the switchbacks of the Fraele Towers; Bormio 2000, on the same bends where Cunego sealed his 2004 maglia rosa; the Forte di Oga, 7.3 km through woodland and history to the foot of a Great War fortress; the Strada dei Forni from Santa Caterina Valfurva, short but steep, with views over the glaciers; Monte from Scleva, averaging 9% with a panorama across the Bormio basin; Fumero, the most approachable climb from Le Prese, ideal for easing into the season; and finally the Forcola Pass – the Via dei Ghiacciai – climbing from Livigno to 2,314 m towards the Swiss border. In total: 125 km and 8,300 m of elevation gain.
At the summit of each climb, a totem pole awaits the photograph that seals the conquest. Collect at least nine and you earn the exclusive new Finisher Trophy, a handcrafted sculpture by a local artist. Registration is online, with three packages to choose from: Bronze (€35), Silver (€80) and Gold (€120), each including a technical kit by Santini Cycling Wear, available in three exclusive designs, two of them brand new this year.
GRAVEL, ALPINE STYLE: WHITE ROADS BETWEEN HISTORY AND WILDERNESS
For those who prefer to leave the tarmac behind, the Alta Valtellina is an extraordinary playground. A network of gravel roads, mule tracks and mountain back roads crosses the Magnifica Terra along ancient transit routes such as the Strada del Sale e del Vino (the Salt and Wine Road). The Cancano Lakes themselves – a fixture of both Enjoy Stelvio Valtellina and the Stelvio Epic Rides – can also be reached via dirt road on a scenic climb.
The crown jewel, however, is undoubtedly the IV Stelvio: an experience reserved for seasoned, well-trained riders. At 52.7 km, 2,340 m of climbing and around seven and a half hours in the saddle along the ancient Via del Sale from Bormio to the legendary Cima Coppi, this is not merely a sporting achievement, it’s a journey through silence and the peaks of the Ortles-Cevedale massif.
Bormio (Italy), May 2026
