Stelvio A Closer Look

Now I have the CR and QOM on both Stelvio, (Watopia and France). Of course, I'm virtually the only one to have ridden it so far. (Zwift benefits)

Wow, is this climb hard. Going fast as I can, 67 minutes and 18 back down. First time I did just under 70 minutes and 19 back down. Going up, I go super hard on the red segments. Going down, hard on the blue (flat to uphill) sections. 

I discovered some sections are definitely leg-sapping efforts to keep your speed, going up to twenty percent. I love this climb as it pushes you to do some natural intervals when the road goes red, and then you get a few sections of respite when it gets level or even a little downhills. These 'teeth' make the climb memorable, rather than boring. Which is why I have been hailing the Ski Lift climb for some time now. I don't know why they haven't ever released it to the community. It is the best ever, and hardest. In a test ride, I finished the climb on a 200% basis. That puts you into some 30-50% peaks! It was absolute chaos. I barely made it.

The Stelvio was going to be the climb of the month for May, but it still hasn't been repaired. The climb finishes at 1616 elevation. The screen says 1668. Strava says 1598. The top will not let you turn right down the mountain. You must make a u-turn and then go left. There's no excuse for not fixing this in time for the Giro's race on the Stelvio in the real life Italia race.

For those, including myself, asking for Mt. Fuji, this climb on Stelvio is worth fleshing out into a real climb. I would sooner add this to Italy than put a real Fuji onto Makuri. Fuji is long like Ventoux, but only about 6%. It just doesn't have any excitement, any reason to ride this instead of the Alp Huez. I would only want the Stelvio and Huez. 

I'm excited to see its release. I would love to actually see a few people stream themselves riding it for the first time. I know I was like, "Oh no, not another peak." About a dozen or more of them. As soon as you recover, another one pops up.

Happy hunting, my friends.