Cima coppi – 2760 meters!

I made it!

Today I reached the Passo dello Stelvio starting from the Prad side of the climb. All the 48 “tornantes” and apprx. 1900 meters of climbing. No wonder this is one epic climb amongst the cyclists.

Today the weather was on my side. It didn’t rain and temperature was not too high or low. Just perfect.

Instead of the basic statistics of this climb (information can be found easily from the internet) I’ll write about my clothing and accessories I had on me.

First of all the bike:

I had my own bike that is in original setup. Rose Xeon RS, Di2 with compact drive.

Clothing:

Helmet
Protective glasses
Bib shorts
Sweat shirt
Jersey (short sleaves)
Shoes and socks
Gillet
Arm and leg warmers
Jacket

Accessories:

Small pump
Spare tire
CO2 valve and a cartridge
Pocket tool
Two botles
iPhone

I was lucky enought not needing anything else from my accessories than the iPhone. I stopped couple of times to take pictures.

When climbing I had all the extra clothing in my jersey pockets. On the top I put my jacket on and before descent I also added arm and leg warmers. The gillet was only piece of clothing I didn’t need.

What next? That is a good question.

If I had more time on this trip I would take a bus on the top and then descent to Bormio and climb that side as well. But unfortunatelly this doesn’t seen to be possible this time.

I’m sure that I will be back in Tyrol in the future. This place has so many possibilities for a sports holiday!

The machine: Rose Xeon RS (2012)

I´m riding the Rose Xeon RS roadbike. It´s my first road machine and it has proven to be one fast and agile bike.

It´s equipped with Shimano Ultegra Di2 compact drive. Xeon RS is an aluminum frame bike, which is a little odd in this carbon era. But it has proved many critics this year. The bike is very light, only 7,4 kg without pedals. That´s pretty amazing for a aluminium frame bike. Xyrium Elite wheelset is also a top pick for less than 2,4k€ bike.

There has not been any problems with the bike. Only downside is the matt white paintjob. It´s challenging to keep it clean, and you can imagine how it looks after that rainy ride

You cannot buy Rose bikes from any dealer. They can only be bought from Rose Bikeworld in Bocholt Germany or from their online-shop. You can by a bike from their list or use online configurator to build your own dreambike. All bikes are made for customers needs, so don´t be afraid to customize your own!

This is the machine I´m going to use for my challenge.