Preview: 2016 Giro d’Italia — Stage 14

Alpago (Farra) to Corvara

Saturday, May 21
210 kilometers


The Giro’s queen stage is the stuff of legends. Tackling the route of the famed “Maratona dles Dolomites” gran fondo, it will take in an endless series of mythical climbs, including the Passo Pordoi, Passo Sella, Passo Gardena, Passo Campolongo, Passo Giau (with gradients around 10 percent for the first three kilometers), and Passo Valparola, with nary a single flat meter in between. One last steep pitch—the Muro del Gatto, which is 350 meters in length and a demoralizing 19 percent—awaits what remains of the bunch at the bottom of the descent in La Villa, with 4.5 kilometers left to race. The finish line sits in the picturesque village of Corvara-Alta Badia.
Total elevation change? A staggering 17,400 feet (5,300 meters). The fact that the grueling 10.8-kilometer mountain time trial takes place the next day makes these the two most vicious (or is it cruel?) and decisive days in the entire three-week race.