38 contains diffi culties all along the way. culties allalongtheway. contains diffi isaroutefortheexpertcyclistand This of 2,053mtoreachwithaclimb34km. It stretchesforagood164km,withheight steepest routeofthemall. Cansigliolinkroadisthelongestand The 0,00 81 Nervesa della B. 4,30 69 Ponte della P. 10,50 82 Susegana 13,30 90 Barriere 16,80 170 San Michele di Feletto San Pietro (E) CANSIGLIOLINKROAD 22,40 262 di Feletto 27,60 127 Corbanese 30,80 263 Tarzo 33,10 273 Nogarolo 35,50 415 San Lorenzo 39,90 136 Vittorio Veneto 43,40 132 Anzano 46,60 251 Fregona However, itisaverypleasantroutebecau- However, nish. fi isonlylevelgroundatthestartand There Valsalega 54,00 800 1127 Crosetta 58,90 62,70 1012 Piana del Cansiglio 67,80 1040 Campon 71,70 918 Spert D'Alpago 73,20 841 Val De Nogher 78,40 400 Farra D'Alpago 84,40 487 Sella Fadalto 92,00 287 Nove 96,10 154 Vittorio Veneto 98,80 246 Revine Lago del Montello. Nervesa dellaBattagliaandarrivesatCiano se ofitswidevarietylandscapes.Itleaves 106,70 238 Tovena 113,00 703 P.sso S. Boldo 120,10 238 Tovena 125,50 193 Follina 130,50 387 Combai 134,40 297 Guia 142,00 176 Bigolino 147,10 149 Crocetta del M. 149,40 138 Ciano del M. Val de Nogher Spert Farra Lago di S.Croce d’Alpago Sella Fadalto Campon Piana del Cansiglio Nove Crosetta Botteon Sonego Val Salega For those arriving by car, there is Passo Savassa Bassa San Boldo Longhere parking space in the large square in Breda Mezzavilla Pra de Radego Revine Lago Serravalle Fregona Montaner S. Maria front of the Town Hall. San Lorenzo Costa Fratte Rugolo Lago Anzano Sotto Croda Nogarolo Average completion time is approxima- VITTORIO VENETO Sarmede Tovena Soller Tarzo tely 5h 30’. Mura Ceneda Cappella Maggiore Valmareno Gai Arfanta Cozzuolo For those not wanting to risk such a Prapian San Giacomo di Veglia Cison di Valmarino Formeniga Pecol San Martino Corbanese Cordignano tough session, given the composition Follina Carpesica Miane Colle Umberto Farro' Scomigo Orsago Premaor Molinetto Manzana of the stretch (an ‘8’ with the centre at Menare' Godega di Sant'urbano La Bella della Croda San Pietro di Feletto Campea Ogliano San Fior Salvarotonda Vittorio Veneto), there is the possibility Combai Pedeguarda Refrontolo Pianzano Bibano Rua Bagnolo Bibano Di Sotto of shortening it in two places without Solighetto Baver Guia Soligo Guizza Farra di Soligo actually abandoning it: in Vittorio Vene- S. Stefano Posmon Pieve di Soligo S.Maria San Vendemiano Levada Col San Martino Collalbrigo to (avoiding the climb in Cansiglio) and VALDOBBIADENE Rocchetta CONEGLIANO Saccol Piazza Rovere Roverbasso Barbisano S. Michele in Tovena (eliminating the climb in Passo Colbertaldo CimavillaCodogne' San Giovanni Sernaglia della Battaglia Collalto Crevada Pare' Mosnigo Borgo Chiesa San Boldo). Bigolino Moriago della Battaglia Ramera Vidor Bocca di Strada Rive Carlot Falze' Di Piave Onigo Susegana Santa Lucia di Piave Covolo Bosco Santa Croce Soffratta Levada Parrocchia Mareno Di Piave Vazzola Visna' Guizzetta Colfosco Santa Mama Santi Angeli Borgo Bellussi Cornuda Ponte Della Priula S. Maria di Piave La Valle Ciano Tezze Crocetta Nervesa della Battaglia Rai 39 del Montello Sovilla Bidasio Maser Santa Maria Bavaria Pra De Roda 13.3km the level ground ends. THE ROUTE The fi rst is a small climb that you take on at speed (cycling past the Museum of Man), The route begins at Nervesa della Battaglia, then going down the Strada Stradale no. situated at 81m above sea level and famous 38 until you see Conegliano, the walled for the epic battles that were fought on the city built on the hills and overlooked by banks of the Piave River during the First a castle that still maintains its Torre del World War. Mille (dating from the unifi cation of Italy). The route begins on level ground, perfect Conegliano’s centre is intact, much of for warming up, a hundred revolutions per its wonderful 16th-century architecture minute with high gears: 39x16. having frescoed facades. After 4.3km you cross the Piave at Ponte This town was the birthplace of the famous della Priula, where you reach Susegana after artist Cima da Conegliano (15th century). turning left towards Colfosco. From here you climb towards Santa Maria From here you head towards the hills and at di Feletto, just over 2km of ascent at 5%, but there is a harder spot at the beginning, where you will need to use mountain gears: 39x19-21. You continue at this height until reaching San Pietro di Feletto, where you face the winding, but not very sheer descent that takes you onto the Strada Statale no. 635, where you turn left towards Tarzo. The road climbs gently, but unremittingly. You are advised not to use gears that are 40 too high here otherwise your legs might ‘seize up’. After travelling for just over Augusta and containing perfectly preserved 30km, when you enter the village of Tarzo medieval and 16th-century palaces and you will fi nd a water fountain. loggias. From here, turn right and you will immedia- Of particular interest is the Ospedale Civile tely start the climb that takes you to the top dating back to 1330, the Loggia Serraval- at San Lorenzo. lese, built in 1400, and the 16th-century It is a short climb - 2.4km - and does not Minucci-De Carlo palace. have diffi cult gradients at the start, though In Ceneda you can still see the remains of its does at the end. The average gradient the medieval walls and towers of the Castle does not exceed 6%. of San Martino; the Loggia Cenedese del The descent into Vittorio Veneto is fast Sansovino is well preserved, despite being and fun, consisting of bends and counter the site of fi ercely fought battles during the bends, and at 4.5km the terrain levels out. First World War. The San Lorenzo climb, that you have just These battles are well documented in the cycled down, is usually the one that deci- Battle Museum. des the ‘M.O. Frare – De Nardi’, an important national cycling race that starts and fi nishes at San Vendemiano, its win- ners’ list including Paolo Savoldelli (1995) and Giorgio Furlan (1987). At the end of the descent, you turn right towards the centre of Vittorio Veneto, which is actually made up of two towns: Serravalle and Ceneda. Serravalle is a fortifi ed town overlooked by the 16th-century Sanctuary of Santa 41 From Vittorio Veneto you continue towards Belvedere’, an international amateur race longest climb of all the itineraries. Anzano, situated 132m above sea level, that is already in its 64th year and has been There are no stretches where you can get where, after 43.4km, the long climb that won by Yaroslav Popoviych (2001), Pietro your breath back and the average gradient takes you to the top of Cansiglio begins. Caucchioli (1998), Ivan Gotti (1990), and is 6.5%. We are close to the place that gave us Maurizio Fondriest (1986), to name just a Initially, the climb offers a wonderful view Ottavio Bottecchia and near the circuit few. of Vittorio Veneto and the surrounding where each year they race the ‘Giro del This road, with its 15.5km climb, is the countryside. 42 At an altitude of approximately 800m, the countryside changes and is dominated by the Cansiglio wood, mainly consisting of beech trees. In Crosetta, where the mountain champion- ship is held, the Cansiglio Plain begins. It is here that the fi nishing line of a ‘real classic’ of youth cycling is situated: the ‘Vittorio Veneto – Cansiglio’ race, initially reserved for Youth participants and now for Juniors. Winners here include Marzio Bruseghin in 1992, Gilberto Simoni in 1989, and Ivan Gotti in 1987. Cansiglio is a plateau covered in thick woo- ds of silver fi r, spruce and beeches (which were once used to build the oars for the Venetian Republic’s fl eet) and is surrounded by mountains (Pizzoc to the west, Monte Cavallo and Alpago to the east and the north). In this area there are plenty of mountain huts, hotels, sports centres (including a golf course that transforms into a cross-country ski route in winter). However, the most distinctive place of all is the village made up of the Cimbri popula- 43 tion, which originally came from Bavaria. and for 2.7km the road starts going uphill These inhabitants’ traditions remain unchan- again until Revine, where a pleasant ged, including the language and lifestyle. stretch full of ups and downs begins along- After 7km, and after reaching the borders of side the Revine Lakes. the Province of Belluno, the extremely sheer This just gives you the right amount of and technically challenging descent begins time to have a drink and something to eat that takes you to Spert. before another tough climb begins. The route runs alongside the Santa Croce In Tovena, after 106.7km, the climb begins Lake, a great spot for surfi ng and swimming. at the San Boldo pass. It is a climb of 6.3km Re-entering the Province of Treviso, there is with an average gradient of 7.5%, though a short sprint at ‘Sella Fadalto’, from where in many places it is more than 10%. a long, smooth and little-traffi cked descent A characteristic that makes this climb uni- takes you to Longhere at the gates of que is that the cyclist, for the entire climb, Vittorio Veneto. can see ahead the serpentine stretch of Turning right, you enter onto the Valsana, hairpin bends and the destination point: 44 there are no less than 18 hairpin bends, fi ve then towards Giovanni, where you are back cross the Piave before heading in the direc- of which are in tunnels dug out of the rock.