The amateur cycling calendar is a crowded one. Some events have more gravity than others, however, especially the ones that challenge you to defy this gravity on the sport’s most iconic climbs. Enter La Stelvio Santini, which lets you climb the legendary Stelvio Pass, a mandatory bucket-list item for any cyclist. Plus, you probably get a t-shirt at the end of it.
Heading into its 14th edition on June 6 and 7, the organizers have shaken things up. We’re hitting the gravel like it’s 2018, baby. The Stelvio isn’t enough. You need the wettest, most brütal grævel for your Instagram.
For the first time, the event weekend in Valtellina will kick off with a dedicated gravel ride on Saturday before the traditional road sufferfest on Sunday.
Double the Suffering in Valtellina
The organizers told us this is an expansion of the event’s “spirit of adventure.” Expanding the spirit of a nonhuman, nonliving entity is a truly Hegelian concept. Bless you, Stelvio Santini, for embracing the Geist of German idealism in your race.
And, of course, it gives the fat-tire crowd an excuse to visit Bormio.
The inaugural Stelvio Santini Gravel event features a 70-kilometer long route with 2,000 meters of elevation gain, plus a shorter 44-kilometer option. It is organized alongside 3T, which means the local dirt sectors will be properly demanding.
The traditional road event on Sunday remains largely unchanged. You still get to choose between three routes (130km, 108km, or the 64km short option), all of which conclude with an ascent of the Stelvio Pass. Rankings will still be determined by timed sections on the climbs rather than overall finishing time, keeping the descents relatively safe from weekend warriors pushing past their limits.
The Numbers and Logistics
So far, over 1,200 riders from 42 countries have signed up for the weekend. Around 80 of those have opted for the combo package of both events. Not sure why they shared those figures with us, to be quite honest.
The event hub has moved to the Bormio Sports Center, freshly renovated from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. Is that information actually relevant to you? If it is, we hope you have a better avenue for receiving it than this website. Get on the organizers’ mailing list.
If you want to ride either, or both, of the events, you’ll have to sign up quick. Registration closes on May 30.
