Classic Cimbs Passo Pordoi

The fabled Dolomite peak that Fausto Coppi made his own

- Words Mark Bailey Photography Patrik Lundin

Nestled among the jagged pinnacles of the Dolomites at the rock summit of the 2,239m Passo Pordoi is a blue-green bronze monument that commemorates the Italian legend Fausto Coppi. The five-time Giro d’Italia winner crossed the Pordoi in first place on five occasions between 1947 and 1954, etching his name into cycling folklore. The monument depicts his heroic cresting of the summit, cheered on by boisterous spectators, with the imposing saw-toothed peak of the 2,950m Sass Pordoi framing his glory.

Even when you manage to recover your breath from the steep bends, it will be taken away by the spellbinding scenery

‘I was first over the summit there five times, maybe because whenever I was in that area I could breathe beautifully,’ he once said. Brutality and beauty: that is the seductive song of the Pordoi. In this high-altitude world of elegant peaks and vicious coiled roads, Coppi came alive. Fuelled by the majestic mountain scenery, pristine air and crisp sunlight, he felt - and often was - invincible. The Passo Pordoi is still known as ‘Coppi’s Mountain’.

He may have dominated here, but Coppi’s first visit to the Pordoi, located between the fanged Sella group and the hulking Marmolada in the Italian Dolomites, provided a humbling lesson.