Passo Rolle
Pass · 1971 m · Dolomites
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Cimon della Pala spikes above the road and gets called the Matterhorn of the Dolomites, though Vezzana, hidden just behind it, is the higher summit of the group. The crossing at 1989 m sits inside the Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino nature park, on a road cut between 1863 and 1874 while Trentino still lay inside Austria-Hungary.
That solo ride continued over Passo Costalunga: Bartali crested both climbs alone and reached Merano five minutes and thirty-eight seconds clear of the next rider after 107 km. The name Rolle is older than the road, recorded since the thirteenth century and thought to come from a local word for the small pastures at the summit. The pass has pulled the Giro back more than twenty times since 1937, most recently in 2019, when Giulio Ciccone led the race across the top on the stage that gave Richard Carapaz his only Grand Tour overall win. The road that carries all of it, linking the Fiemme and Primiero valleys, was cut between 1863 and 1874, while Trentino still lay inside Austria-Hungary, and the pass today sits inside the Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino nature park.
What you see
The sharp spike of Cimon della Pala, nicknamed the Matterhorn of the Dolomites, fills the skyline above the pass, though Vezzana, hidden just behind it, is the group's higher summit.
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