The Prato Nevoso climb is a well-established name in professional cycling, having hosted a Giro d’Italia stage finish on three occasions and even welcoming the Tour de France once. In 2021, it also featured in a Giro d’Italia Women stage, and this year, it will host a finish at the Giro Next Gen for the first time.
Located just a few kilometers from Mondovì, in the province of Cuneo, Prato Nevoso is best known as a modern ski resort with over 130 km of slopes for every discipline. Founded in the early 1960s by Ligurian entrepreneurs, it was designed to be easily accessible from cities like Savona, Genoa, and Turin, but has also become a popular destination for cyclists and climbing enthusiasts.
The climb is no joke: 13 km in length with an average gradient of 7.2%. It is steady, never steep but also never easing, making it well-suited to pure climbers and a perfect ground for significant selection.
The first time big-time cycling reached Prato Nevoso was in 1996, with Stage 13 of the Giro. Davide Rebellin was in the Maglia Rosa, but Pavel Tonkov took the stage and began building his eventual overall win. In 2000, it returned for Stage 18, with Stefano Garzelli taking victory on his way to claiming the overall title. In 2008, the Tour de France featured a stage starting in Embrun (France), won by breakaway rider Simon Gerrans, while among the GC contenders Cadel Evans lost the yellow jersey to Frank Schleck.
The Giro came back in 2018, with Maximilian Schachmann winning from a break. Simon Yates, then in the Maglia Rosa and seemingly on track for overall victory, lost a few seconds – a prelude to the dramatic collapse the following day on the Colle delle Finestre (redeemed spectacularly just days ago when he won the Trofeo Senza Fine in Rome).
The most recent visit was during the Giro d’Italia Women 2021, where Anna Van der Breggen soloed to victory, putting minutes into her rivals and leading a SD Worx podium sweep, with Ashleigh Moolman and Demi Vollering finishing second and third.
