6-Tag_Saluzzo-St-sauveur-sur-tinee

From Saluzzo, we ride over a small pass to Brondello and continue through Venasca and Rosanna to Busca. Then we go through the plains to Caraglio and after about 45 km, we reach the entrance to the Val Stura valley towards Vinadio. Now it is about 30 km uphill along the valley to Vinádio, where the long and difficult climb to the Col de la Lombarde (2,351 m) begins. The narrow road winds up through tight hairpin bends with an 11% gradient. The gradient increases to 13%, passing a small chapel, and we have reached about halfway of the climb. This is followed by about 2 km of flat terrain, which we use to recover before climbing again through hairpin groups with a 12% gradient. Only in the last kilometers before the summit does the gradient drop to 6%, and after 23 km, we also reach the pass summit. Now follows the descent to Isola 2000 – an artificial ski resort. From here the road is well developed and descends through 37 hairpin bends down to Isola and then about 15 km downstream along the valley to St. Sauveur-sur-Tinée. We are overjoyed to have reached our goal after about 700 km and around 15,000 meters of elevation gain. Quickly, we store the bikes and travel the last kilometers towards Nice by bus on a busy road. Continuing along the beautiful Ligurian coast. From the highway, we enjoy marvelous views of the sea and the lovely towns along the Italian Riviera. Just before Genoa, we turn north and reach our accommodation for tonight in Ovada.