Climbing Italy's Most Underrated HC Climb - Colle del Nivolet (TdP 2026 Bonus Stage)

There's a road in Piemonte that most cyclists have never heard of — and that might be exactly why it deserves to be ridden. Welcome to the Bonus Stage of Tour de Pasta 2026: an early alarm, a drive into the Valle dell'Orco, and a date with one of the longest, highest HC climbs in Italy — Colle del Nivolet.

The day starts gently, deceptively so, rolling out of the village of Sparone through the lower valley toward Noasca. Don't be fooled — this is just the warm-up. Leaving Noasca, the road snaps upright into a stack of hairpins before offering a choice most riders never get to make: a 3.5km tunnel blasted straight through the mountain, or the old scenic route that hugs the alpine river instead. I chose the river. Rough tarmac, open sky, and the kind of silence you don't get underground.

From there, the valley opens into Ceresole Reale, the last outpost of civilization before the real climb begins — 15km of pure high-altitude riding through a landscape that used to be Europe's most closely guarded hunting ground. The road itself is a feat of 20th-century engineering, carved between 1953 and 1963 to service two hydroelectric dams tucked into the mountains above. Those dams created Lago Serrù and Lago d'Agnel, and by the time you reach them, the scenery has stopped looking like Italy altogether — it turns lunar, all rock, wind, and glacial water, sitting in the shadow of Gran Paradiso itself, Italy's first-ever national park. This land was once a royal hunting reserve, declared by King Vittorio Emanuele II in 1856 for one reason: to save the Alpine ibex from extinction. It worked — and today the same slopes that sheltered the last ibex herds in Europe are what make this ride feel untouched by time.

The final ramps to the Colle del Nivolet sign — sitting at 2,612m, among the highest paved roads on the continent — are ridden into a wind that never seems to stop. It's brutal, it's beautiful, and it's one of the most rewarding summits I've ever reached on two wheels. Then it's back down through everything we just climbed: the lakes, the old river road, the hairpins, and home.

This is Colle del Nivolet — a climb the Giro d'Italia only dared to use once, in 2019, finishing right at Lago Serrù. It deserves to be far more famous than it is. If you're a road cyclist looking for something beyond the usual Alpine classics, put this one on the list.

Ride along, and let me know in the comments if you've ever tackled the Nivolet yourself.

Strava Ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/19361279094

Follow the ride: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/when_in_doubt_cycle/ Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/86551840 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PaoloTagliaferri

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