Triple Stelvio
I’m roused by the shrill blast of my alarm, purposefully set to a maddening tone to ensure that I wake promptly at 3:45am. An overwhelming urge to roll over and pull the duvet over my head permeates my body. Still full of sleep, my eyes sting, although nowhere near as much as my legs will once the day is through.
‘Come on, there’s a mountain to be climbed.’
The little voice whispering inside my head is right, there is a mountain to be climbed, only it’s not just any old mountain. It’s the legendary Passo dello Stelvio. And that’s a serious undertaking as it is, but for today’s Big Ride, she’ll prove a beast thrice over. I’m struggling to remember why, given the early hour, but I’ve decided to climb it three times in one continuous ride.
Even by my standards, which are probably somewhat different to your everyday cyclist’s and which have definitely been warped by all manner of ridiculous cycling challenges, riding all three sides of this behemoth in a day is bordering on the ridiculous. So it’s a good job I practised yesterday then. A mere 12 hours ago I was rolling across the finish line of the Stelvio Santini Gran Fondo. You have to get the miles in.
I work my way through a bowl of cold porridge that I prepared the night before, put on my helmet and tighten my shoes in anticipation of what lies ahead.
Get up, get out
Bathed in artificial light the streets of Bormio are unsurprisingly
