Passo Giau is one of the best-loved and most photographed climbs in the Dolomites, as well as one of the favourite proving grounds for road cycling enthusiasts visiting the Belluno area.
Route data
- Start: Cortina d’Ampezzo
- Finish: Passo Giau (2,236 m)
- Length: 15.9 km
- Elevation gain: 1,071 m
- Average gradient: 6.7% (max 11.5%)
- Surface: asphalt
- Difficulty: very demanding
From Cortina d’Ampezzo the road climbs at steady gradients as far as Pocol, then takes on a short false flat before rearing up decisively through the hairpins to the pass, at 2,236 metres. The view that opens along the ascent is among the most spectacular in the Dolomites: the walls of the Nuvolau, the Cinque Torri and, behind you, the Marmolada crown every pedal stroke. At the top, Rifugio Passo Giau is the ideal reward for a coffee or a plate of canederli before the descent. Anyone after a gentler option can climb from the Selva di Cadore side, slightly easier in its middle section.
Did you know?
Passo Giau has been the stage of memorable Giro d’Italia days more than once: in 2021 Egan Bernal consolidated here the pink jersey that would carry him to overall victory, and over the years the climb has crowned climbers such as Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali.
All the cycling routes
Why is it called Giau? The origin of the name is not as obvious as it seems: we tell the story, along with that of the other Dolomite passes, on the page Why the Dolomite passes have the names they do.