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Classic climbs: Passo Falzarego & Passo Valparola, a Dolomites duo with a rich history
Just 27 days after Nazi Germany invaded France, with the world on the brink of catastrophe, the Giro d’Italia made its first pilgrimage to the Passo Falzarego, perched at an altitude of 2,105m among the twisted grey turrets of the Dolomites. The date was 5th June 1940 and the race’s 17th stage would be the tappone – the hardest day – a 110km odyssey over the Falzarego, Pordoi and Sella passes.
On this dramatic day, the slopes of the Falzarego hosted a special moment of cycling history: the beginning of the fierce but respectful rivalry between Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.
The Italians were teammates at Legnano, but Bartali was supposed to be the alpha. Aged 25, he was a two-time Giro champion while Coppi, 20, was a novice in his first year as a pro. But Bartali had been injured in a crash earlier in the race and by Stage 17 the young Coppi had surged far ahead, now boasting a 59-second lead over Enrico Mollo in second place.
The tension was palpable but their team manager, Eberardo Pavesi, hoped to broker an accord. He arrived at a cafe on top of the exposed Falzarego pass and asked the barman to prepare two coffees for the imminent arrival of his star duo.
‘How will I know who they are?’ asked the barman. ‘Easy,’ replied Pavesi. ‘They will be the first ones over the top.’
He was right. Despite both puncturing, and some tense moments along the way, the teammates battled up the hairpins of the Falzarego together, wrecking their opponents’ hopes and cresting the rocky summit two minutes ahead of the peloton.
Bartali claimed the stage win and Coppi went on to become the youngest Giro champion in history. But Bartali insisted that he was helping only his team, not Coppi, and a historic rivalry was born.
However, their personal battles would have to wait. On 10th June, the day after the final stage of the Giro, Benito Mussolini sent Italian soldiers into France. With the Giro suspended during the war, Coppi went to fight in Africa, while Bartali spent the war smuggling fake identity documents in his bike frame and helping to save the lives of many Jewish families.
When the Giro returned, the rivalry between the duo – now on separate teams – resumed, with the Falzarego again hosting several key battles. At the 1946 Giro, Coppi surged clear with a dramatic solo attack on the Falzarego, arriving at the barren summit alone, although Bartali went on to claim the overall win.
The following year, Bartali dropped his chain on the Falzarego and Coppi attacked. Then on the descent, Coppi lost his own chain, which enabled Bartali to catch up. But Coppi escaped once more to surge to a stage win and later claim his second Giro. As a result of these tussles, the Falzarego is forever entwined with the Coppi-Bartali legend.
Twin peaks
The name Falzarego stems from falza rego (false king) in Ladin, the regional dialect of Dolomite locals, and refers to the legend of a king who was turned to stone for betraying his people and remained forever petrified in the mountain walls. The pass connects Cortina d’Ampezzo and Pocol in the east with Andráz and Caprile in the south.
However, it also links those routes with La Villa in Alta Badia in the west – a popular base for visiting cyclists – via a dramatic connecting mountain road which weaves over the rugged 2,192m Passo Valparola.
The Valparola pass, which sits 1.2km west and 87m higher than the Falzarego pass, traditionally forms part of the same elongated cycling ascent from Pocol in the east.
It first appeared in the Giro in 1976 and has featured on multiple stages since, most recently the epic 183km 19th stage in 2023, where Canadian Derek Gee summited first and earned himself the combativity award. But amateurs flock here too: the Falzarego and Valparola are the final twin ascents for riders on the infamous 138km Maratona dles Dolomites.
Cycling from Caprile in the south up to the Falzarego involves a 20.5km ride, with 1,119m of ascent at an average of 5.5% – although there are steep final hairpins at around 8%. Cycling from La Villa in the west to the higher Valparola pass is a punchy 13.9km ride that includes 802m of climbing at 5.8% and tops out with a long, steep 4km drag at 7-10% at altitudes of 1,800-2,100m.
However, the most popular and photogenic route is this one, the 10.9km ascent from Pocol in the east, which features 577m of ascent at an average of 6% and ever-increasing gradients that peak at over 8%. After reaching the Falzarego, you can turn right and grind further over the connecting mountain road to the high-altitude Valparola pass.
Chasing legends
Beginning in the village of Pocol, you ride past the lemon yellow walls of the Hotel Villa Argentina before weaving through a lush forest of pine trees, fresh from a fairytale.
After 2.5km, you glimpse a small wooden chapel dedicated to soldiers who died during the two World Wars, then slowly clock up altitude along the smooth ribbon of tarmac before entering a vast open bowl where green mountain meadows lie beneath the jaw-dropping grey peaks of the Cinque Torri, Settsass and Lagazuoi.
As you climb higher, rock walls loom on your right and steep drops plummet into the forest on your left. Then, in a dramatic final twist, you surge into a magical mountain landscape where hairpins swirl beneath the famous twisted turrets of the Dolomites, many of which will be coated in snow and ice regardless of the season. This is the scene of those epic high-altitude Coppi and Bartali battles.
Given that you probably won’t have a team manager travelling ahead to order the hot coffees, it’s worth noting there is a small cluster of cafes at the Falzarego pass where you can refuel. After soaking in the panoramic views, follow signs to Corvara and continue to climb for another 1.2km to the Passo Valparola, which carves between striking walls of rock and shimmering mountain lakes.
Fans of comic book heroes may recognise the location from the movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, while fans of history can look out over the brooding flanks of the 2,835m Mount Lagazuoi, which formed the front line between Austria and Italy during the First World War. Trenches, bunkers and fortifications are still visible all around the Valparola pass.
Whatever your preference, this is a place of such beauty and atmosphere that it is sure to leave any visitor breathless. Or maybe it’s just the altitude.
• This article originally appeared in issue 149 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe
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