Monte Grappa (from Semonzo)
Climb · Dolomites
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Monte Grappa (from Semonzo) is a 18.7 km cycling climb averaging 8.0% (+1501 m), rising from 229 m to 1719 m in Dolomites.
18.7 km · +1501 m · 8.0% avg · ~15.4% max · 229 → 1719 m · 30 hairpins
Stats computed from OpenStreetMap and satellite elevation data — approximate.
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Gradient by colour: ● <3% ● 3–6% ● 6–9% ● 9%+
Where it bites
Steepest 500 m: 15.4% (km 15.3–15.8).
| km | to | avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 314 m | 8.5% |
| 2 | 397 m | 8.4% |
| 3 | 468 m | 7.5% |
| 4 | 550 m | 8.5% |
| 5 | 634 m | 8.4% |
| 6 | 711 m | 7.4% |
| 7 | 807 m | 9.5% |
| 8 | 888 m | 8.4% |
| 9 | 979 m | 8.8% |
| 10 | 1044 m | 6.6% |
| 11 | 1066 m | 2.2% |
| 12 | 1180 m | 10.6% |
| 13 | 1285 m | 11.1% |
| 14 | 1339 m | 5.4% |
| 15 | 1407 m | 7.0% |
| 16 | 1517 m | 10.2% |
| 17 | 1582 m | 6.6% |
| 18 | 1680 m | 10.7% |
What it’s like to ride
The road turns up at the northern edge of Semonzo and is already at 8% within a few hundred metres, no run-in, no warm-up. Twelve hairpins come in the first five kilometres, part of twenty-eight on the way to the top, and most of the lower half sits under heavy tree cover, so you climb in green shade with the Venetian plain falling away behind you at every turn. It holds 8–9% for about nine kilometres, eases briefly around the Campo Croce shelf, then bites again above 10% in the closing kilometres, with ramps to 14%. Near the top, five other roads up the mountain, from Fietta, Possagno, Cavaso del Tomba, Pederobba and Alano, merge into yours for the final three kilometres. The summit is the Sacrario Militare, the terraced military ossuary holding 22,910 First World War dead, with its museum alongside, and Rifugio Bassano next to it serves Venetian food to 250 people at a sitting; on a clear day you can pick out the Venetian lagoon to the southeast and the Dolomites to the north.
History
The Semonzo road, the Strada Generale Giardino, was cut in the early months of 1918 as a military supply route: General Nicolis De Robilant ordered it and it was completed under General Gaetano Giardino, 5.50 metres wide, built to move troops and materiel up the mountain by a line less exposed to enemy fire than parts of the older Cadorna road. The Giro d'Italia has come back to this side repeatedly. Vincenzo Nibali took his first Giro stage win over it in 2010, attacking five kilometres from the summit and then dropping Cadel Evans, Michele Scarponi and Ivan Basso on the descent to Asolo. In 2014 the race ran a mountain time trial from Bassano del Grappa that turned left at Semonzo for a final 19.3 km at 8%, won by Nairo Quintana in 1:05:37 with Fabio Aru 17 seconds back. In 2024 stage 20 climbed it twice on the way to Bassano del Grappa, and Tadej Pogacar rode clear on the second ascent to win alone by 2:07, going up in a shade under 52 minutes, faster than Quintana's time trial mark.
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Common questions
- How long and steep is Monte Grappa (from Semonzo)?
- Monte Grappa (from Semonzo) is a 18.7 km cycling climb averaging 8.0% (+1501 m), rising from 229 m to 1719 m in Dolomites.
- Where is Monte Grappa (from Semonzo) steepest?
- The steepest 500 m averages 15.4%, between km 15.3 and km 15.8 of the climb.
- How many hairpins does Monte Grappa (from Semonzo) have?
- Monte Grappa (from Semonzo) has 30 hairpin bends, counted from the road's map geometry (a hairpin here means at least 150 degrees of turning completed within 150 metres of road). Painted corner numbers on some climbs count gentler bends too, so the two figures can differ.