86km The Blockhaus; loved and feared
The Giro d'Italia on the Blockhaus 2022 - Pozzovivo, Carapaz, Bardet, Landa(hidden), Almeida - Jai Hindley, the winner of the stage has just attacked at this point.
‘A climb that has excited and terrorized cyclists for generations’ Daniel Friebe
Ride overview
There are three routes up this very beautiful but fearsome mountain. The easiest, if such a climb can be labelled, begins in Fara Filorium Petri and climbs Passo Lanciano before turning up towards the Blockhaus summit. The second hardest route is from Lettomanopello which climbs Passo Lanciano from its other side before heading up to the summit. The third way up and certainly the hardest, is from the valley floor at Scafa, climbing up to the official start of the climb in the village of Roccamorice and then riding up the old mule track directly to the top. The route marked below, follows much of the Giro route used in 2022, by riding up Passo Lanciano first, before dropping down to Lettomanopelo. Rather than going all the way to the valley floor and back up on a main road, it takes a country route with a stiff climb to Roccamorice. The route is hard, it’s long, it includes a thrilling descent and the views from the top are thoroughly rewarding. The Maiella National Park now forbid vehicles from reaching the traditional finish line where Eddy Merckx made his name in 1967, but the road is still open to cyclists. This adds a further six kilometres onto the modern Giro climb. A note about the weather - the mountain may be in the south of Europe, but the weather on this mountain is famous for turning very quickly. I’ve ridden up here in 40 degree heat and been greeted with a hail storm at the top. Be prepared!
The ride is very beautiful, beginning and ending as it does in amongst the olive groves of Fara Filorium Petri, and rides up through re-wilded lands and into the famous Apennine beech forests. There’s coffee and a bun at the top of Passo Lanciano, then a swift, cheek-pressing descent with very few corners, which will test your nerve. Once in Lettomanopelo, there is a country road which passes the old bitumen mines although you’d be hard pressed to know that this was once a major industrial area, whose bitumen ended up on the roofs and streets of both New York and London. The way up from the river is steep and will warm you up nicely for the last test of the day - that of the Blockhaus Climb from Roccamorice. It is an exposed ascent, with little shade, no water, and barely a car. You’ll pass abandoned fields with their enchanting round stone houses where farmers spent summer nights. There is a turn off - probably for another day - to Santo Spirito, and San Bartolomeo, which are two of the foremost hermitages in the Maiella. Once you are at Fonte Tettone, turn right and continue riding up to the radio masts and beyond on a narrow track to the double line painted on the road which is where Eddy Merckx arrived to begin his years of Grand Tour domination. The views to the hight mountain peaks and down to the sea only 40km away are sensational. The way back to Fara is fast and thrilling.
Ride details
START/FINISH: Fara Filorium Petri. DISTANCE: KM. TOTAL ASCENT: m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Mountainous. Good road surfaces in 2022 as much of the route was resurfaced for the Giro ‘22, however the weather quickly takes its toll on the tarmac so be aware of road surface cracks as well as gravel on the corners. Weather is capricious and often violent. Be prepared to change your plans. FOOD: La Baita on Passo Lanciano - coffee and cakes, famous for its arrosticini. Other cafes on Passo Lanciano serve pasta lunches. Roccamorice; three cafes serving coffee and snacks and La Belvedere serves lunch. Fonte Tetone; Mama Rosa hotel has a popular restaurant and 3km from the top Rifugio Pomilio serves coffee, cakes and sometimes lunches. However, don’t rely on it as it is not always open - especially out of the main summer months of July and August.
