One of the great Giro d'Italia climbs, Tre Cime is also one of the finest cycling routes in the Dolomites. The scenery is spectacular and the climb is hard, with the last five kilometres
challenging enough to test the strongest of legs
The ascent really begins from the Misurina Lake and climbs to foot of the 'Tre Cime' mountain peaks, with a gradient that is
steep and unrelenting.
The views are breathtaking and certainly help to take your mind off the suffering, but only a bit, because the suffering in those final 4km is real! The scenery at the top is incredible, the Tre Cime (three peaks) itself is
not visible from the classic side where the road ends, but the massive rock formations still loom over you imperiously.
The climb has been used in the Giro since the 1960s, with stage winners here ranging from Eddy Mercks to Vincenzo Nibali.
Tre Cime is best climbed from late-May to early October.
You can clearly see one of the three 'cime' from the road
Roads & Traffic
The road surface is in very good condition throughout. The first part of the climb can be quite busy at times, but the classic part of the ascent - the final 5km - comes after a toll booth which is very expensive for cars (free for bikes though!) and is generally very quiet as long as you avoid the early morning rush of hikers driving up to the car park.
The challenging final 6km begin shortly after the lake
Alternative Routes
The first part of Tre Cime can be climbed from various different routes, but there is only one way up the final 6km from the Misurina lake.
The climb to Tre Cime di Lavaredo is a highlight of our Dolomites & Italian Alps cycling holiday, which
crosses Northern Italy from Zoncolan to Mortirolo.
In the links below you can find out more about this and some of the other tours that we run in high mountains.
Italy
Spain
France