For five years and three months, a total of 2,000 workers toiled on the Stelvio, a masterpiece of road engineering. Then the Austrian Emperor Franz I was finally able to open the 50-kilometre-long link between South Tyrol and Lombardy to traffic. The year was 1832. A time, in other words, when it was not cars but horse-drawn sleighs that trudged along the mountain pass road. In the winter months, the journey from Prad to Bormio could be completed in this way in nine hours – provided the horses were changed several times along the way.
The fastest time on the Stelvio
Today, cyclists are attempting to set entirely different record times on the famous 48 hairpin bends on the South Tyrolean side. The fastest time officially recorded to date for the 24.9-kilometre route with 1,846 metres of elevation gain from Prad to the Stelvio Pass is held by the Canadian cyclist Jack Burke, with a time of 1:08:27 hours. The fact is that with such incredible times, nothing must get in the way. Above all, no snaking queue of cars, motorbikes and buses, as is actually the case almost every day in summer.
Except for that one Saturday at the end of August, when the Stelvio Pass road is closed to motorised traffic and open only to cyclists. Mountain pass enthusiasts from all over the world will be back at the starting line in Prad at 8 am on 29 August – whatever the weather. Because no true cyclist would want to miss this day, when you can take in every single hairpin bend free from car horns, jostling and exhaust fumes.
There’s no registration or timekeeping, and it really doesn’t matter what sort of bike you turn up on for this event. Although, as a mountain biker, you might well want to ‘change horses’ on the day – just like in the Middle Ages. You could, for instance, whizz up the legendary mountain pass on a road bike and switch to a mountain bike at the top of the Stilfserjoch, before tackling one of the equally celebrated downhill trails. For example, the Goldseeweg, the Bimbam Trail or the Supertrail down from the nearby Umbrail Pass. The advantage of this option is that you’ll have the downhill route all to yourself. On the road, around 10,000 cyclists will be out and about on this day in fine weather, and they have until 4 pm.
Information on the Stilfserjoch Cycling Day
- Date: 29 August 2026, 8 am – 4 pm (road closure at Trafoi)
- Route: From Prad/Trafoi to the Stelvio Pass (2,758 m), total: 24.9 km and 1,846 metres of elevation gain
- Participation: Open to all types of bikes (road bikes, mountain bikes, e-bikes).
- Catering: A cyclists’ festival on the Franzenshöhe with music.
- Tip for the descent: It is possible to take a circular route via the Umbrail Pass – which is also car-free – into Switzerland.
- Information: nationalpark-stelvio.it
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
