Gavia Passo Doble

When John Orchard rode the Alpine Pass with Grand Tour winner Alberto Cantador

Now, I love to ride and I love to dance, so when I received an unexpected invitation from Italian cycle clothing manufacturer rh+ to ‘Pasta Party and DJ with Alberto Contador’ at the top of the Passo di Gavia in the beautiful Italian region of Lombardy, naturally I jumped at the chance. I knew that the 32 year old Spanish Grand Tour winner was renowned for his sense of fun and the chance to get down to his grooves sounded like too good an opportunity to miss.

rh+ may currently be a new name to you but that’s all about to change. In only 10 years they stormed the Italian market equaling the mighty Castelli in market share. Having spent that time perfecting their product range, they felt ready to spread their wings and enter the competitive UK and US markets. rh+ have recently teamed up with fleece manufacturer Polartec to create some of the most technically innovative riding kits around.

In addition to the new AirX-Change clothing range, rh+ and Polartec launched their collaboration with, and sponsorship of, Team Fundacion Contador; an organisation formed to spread awareness of the health

benefits of cycling and to give promising young riders a chance to ride on the World Tour circuit. The launch of this collaboration and the RXDUE event (an ascent of the iconic Passo di Gavia with Alberto Contador) took place in the beautiful city of Milan, mecca for the world’s fashionistas and birth place of iconic Italian bike builders Bianchi.

Seeing the enormous scrum of journalists and film crews squeezed into the room reminded me just how popular Contador is in Italy and Spain. He is a huge sporting celebrity and draws an adoring crowd wherever he goes. When faced with the glare of the media circus Contador comes across as reserved but when you get him alone he is warm and full of fun, putting everybody at ease with his infectious smile. 2016 was his last season as a pro rider and he retired as one of the most successful riders of all time. The winner of seven Grand Tours (TdeF 2007 & 2009: Giro 2008 & 2015; Vuelta 2008, 2012 & 2014) Contador is second only to the great Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil in terms of Grand Tours won. He still claims he won two more Grand Tour victories after being stripped of his 2010 TdeF and 2011 Giro wins following a doping scandal. Contador still claims these victories but the record books no longer share the same view.

Back in the day, we gathered to Milan to focus on what was the future. Contador was joined by Polartec CEO (and owner of uber cool US bike builder Independent Fabrication) Gary Smith and rh+ President Giovanni Cagnoli to answer questions about their collaboration and role as official sponsor of Team Fundacion Contador. The young team currently consists of mainly Spanish riders with just one Italian and one Belgian exception. I asked Contador whether there would be opportunities for young UK riders to join the team and he confirmed that there would be, in fact the team was actively looking for riders from those countries. In addition to bringing on young riders and promoting the idea of cycling for health the Foundation pledged to invest significant money in developing improved treatment and rehabilitation techniques for stroke victims. This is a subject painfully close to Contador’s heart as, in 2004, aged 21 he suffered a life-threatening stroke which required major surgery. He was lucky to emerge with no lasting after effects but quickly set about doing all he could to raise stroke awareness.

With the formalities over we drove three and a half hours north past the shimmering waters of Lake Como to

the Hotel Palace in the picture perfect mountain town of Bormio. Once checked-in we were equipped with a bike and furnished with clothing from the new rh+ AirX-Change range which we tested on the climb of the iconic Paso di Gavia the following day. This, at the time, was a remarkable kit, beautifully made and exquisitely detailed. I thought that I might overheat in the long bibtights, thermal jersey and jacket I had been provided but the rh+ team had called it just right. When I woke in the morning it was to forecasts of chilly conditions. I have reviewed the rh+ AirX-Change range earlier, but suffice to say, I could not have asked for better equipment in which to ride the Gavia.

The Passo di Gavia and its sister Passo dello Stelvio sit between two provinces, Sondrio in the north and Brescia in the south. During the winter months this area is an established destination for skiers and snowboarders but in the summer the region is quiet. Despite being one of the world’s most perfect destinations for cyclists most stay on the French side of the Alps. One innovative idea to attract more cyclists to the area was the proposal to close the Gavia Pass from allowing cars and trucks for one day a week during the summer months. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a busy road but it was nice to know that you won’t meet a truck when rounding a blind bend at 65kph.

The Passo di Gavia climbs skyward from the pretty Alpine towns of Bormio on one side and Ponte di Legno on the other meeting at the summit at a height of 2618m. When ridden from Bormio the climb is 26km long. It begins gently at first, the SP29 road leaving Bormio and meandering gently through the pine trees. The route passes uneventfully through the sleepy villages of Uzza, San Antonio and San Gottardo before entering the verdant Parco Nationale dello Stelvio. At 13km you reach the village of Santa Caterina, the road ramps up, turns right and the real fun begins. Up to this point in the climb I had been riding with rh+ General Manager Marzio Demartin, an ex professional skier with the build of a pro cyclist. He had been taking it easy on me and we chatted as we rode along together. Having reached the turn he rose from the saddle, accelerated away and as he disappeared into the distance shouted over his shoulder, ‘This is where the real climb begins, welcome to the Gavia!’

We had decided to set off early as my flight time from Milan Linate airport meant I would have to take on the Milan rush hour traffic. Up the mountain early

and off the mountain early was my mantra. Back in Bormio Alberto Contador was addressing a crowd of eager cyclists before formally firing the start gun, hopping into a helicopter and flying to Ponte di Legno where he would do the same on the other side. He then returned by helicopter to Bormio. There he mounted his Tinkoff-Saxo S-Works Venge, rode up the Gavia, over the summit and descended into Ponte di Legno before turning around and riding back up to the summit!

Out of Santa Caterina the crumbling tarmac twists through the pines and in a heartbeat you’re clear of the hustle of the world below. This is an impossibly pretty climb, small and intimate, gentle even, replete with mountain goats who casually occupy the road and eye the passing, panting cyclists with mild disdain.

At about 20km the road kicks up to its steepest gradient. The scale of the landscape grows and each bend reveals another colossal Alpine vista. The scale of the mountain scape sends shivers down your spine. It was here during the 1988 Giro that a US 7-Eleven-Hoonved rider, Andy Hampsten from North Dakota made history in the most extreme conditions the Giro had ever seen. As the weather closed in and the torrential rain turned to snow, the peloton pleaded with the race organisers to cancel the stage. Most teams were woefully ill-prepared for the conditions but the 7-Eleven-Hoonved management had predicted the weather and had stocked up on extreme weather ski gear for their riders. With the peloton in disarray, Hampsten and Dutch rider Erik Breukink attacked, descending the treacherous snow covered roads into Bormio without fear, desperate for the shelter of their team cars. Breukink won the day and Hampsten entered the record books going on to become the first and only American to win the Giro d’Italia.

Having passed the steepest section the road flattens and winds its way across a plateau before revealing the biggest surprise of the ride, a mountain top lake, Largo Nero sparking amidst the snowcapped peaks.

Heartened by the sight of the summit and with the relentless

pull of gravity reduced by the gentle gradient I upped my pace. I could see a considerable group of cyclists and photographers gathered at the inflatable summit marker which had been specially erected for the event. As I grew nearer, the sight of the crowd made me stronger and I crossed the line at a pace that seemed to impress the assembled group. Did I really hear them cheering? Only once I came to a gasping halt did I turn and see Alberto Contador, resplendent in his neon team colours a mere 50m behind me. Maybe the cheers hadn’t been for my efforts after all. Before I had a chance to ask him where his playbox was and what was top of his DJ playlist he was passed me and into the descent without stopping.

As I sipped my hot gluwein and drank in the grandeur of the mountain peaks something remarkable occurred to me; I had beaten Alberto Contador over the summit of the Passo di Gavia. I had completed the 26km in 1:50:46 and I was proud. Somehow the fact that Alberto had set off a full hour after me didn’t seem that important.

P.S. The descent of the Gavia is a particularly exciting one due to the steep gradient and tight corkscrew bends; it’s like riding a roller coaster on a bicycle. On the way down I overtook an unsuspecting motorcyclist who did a comic book double take as I flew silently by. This is a fairy tale of a climb, tough (the average gradient is 8%, the middle section ramps up to 14%) but never spiteful. Just when you feel you might be running out of juice the mountain gives you something back, a flat section or a tiny descent. I will return to ride the Stelvio but in the meantime if you have a chance to ride the Passo di Gavia take it, you will not be disappointed.

P.P.S. On my return home and on closer inspection of my invitation I noticed that I may have been the victim of a hurried translation from Italian to English. Only then did it become clear that instead of ‘Pasta Party and DJ with Alberto Contador’ it should have read ‘Pasta Party with DJ and Alberto Contador.’ Oh well, I thought, there’ll be plenty of time for that next year.