Mount Etna

The first major climbing test of the 2017 Giro d’Italia was Mount Etna, with the live volcano serving up 19km of gruelling riding to really test the form of the GC contenders.

The Sicilian ascent has become a popular training base for cyclists, in addition to already being a tourist hot spot thanks to the volcano’s history.

But why? Well an average gradient of 6.6 per cent, and a steepest section – at about halfway up – of almost double that is plenty to be testing the legs.

We encountered it for the first time in 2013, on a Shimano press launch, and the relentless twisting, steep, road with rough surfaces as the summit approaches is one of the toughest we’ve ever ridden.

Oropa

Oropa offered a huge sting in the tail of stage 14 of this year’s Giro d’Italia, on what was otherwise an almost completely flat day.

Perhaps forever linked to Giro d’Italia legend by Marco Pantani’s win on the climb in 1999 – shortly before he was removed from the race because of high haematic readings – the climb features a cobbled finishing straight to the Santuario di Oropa.

It starts gently, before kicking up to its steepest section of more than eight per cent gradient in the middle, before an undulating run-in where rhythm is difficult and recovery is key on the flatter sections.

Mortirolo

Stage 16 of this year’s Giro d’Italia is perhaps the most eagerly-awaited of the race so far, with three iconic climbs to be tackled.

Alongside two sides of the Stelvio (see below), there is also the Passo Mortirolo – nominated as the Cima Scarponi in memory of the late former Giro d’Italia champion.

Lance Armstrong once called the Mortirolo the toughest climb he had ever ridden, and

This year’s race will actually go up from Edolo – the first time since 1990 they have done so, and only the third time ever that the Mazzo di Valtellina ascent has not been used.

It is the longest of the possible routes up but does offer the gentlest average gradient – if riding 17.2km at an average of 6.7 per cent can ever be considered gentle.

Featuring a memorial to Marco Pantani – the first man over the summit in 1994 – on the climb, the real suckers for punishment will want to try the more traditional Giro climb, however, with an average gradient of 11 per cent on the 11.4km ascent.

Umbrail Pass

An alternative Stelvio climb, the Umbrail Pass is the third ascent packed into stage 16 of this year’s race and is making its Giro d’Italia debut in 2017.

It only became fully tarmacked two years ago but the highest paved Swiss road (the Stelvio marks the Swiss-Italian border) climbs to 2,501m up.

Covering 13.5km of climbing, there are more exposed landscapes and steep hairpins to negotiate with the gradient ramping up pretty early on and refusing to abate.

The average is a thigh-numbing 8.4 per cent, but it reaches double figures on more than one occasion before sitting at more than nine per cent for the final push to the summit.

Passo Pordoi

Moving away from the Alps and into the Dolomites, the Passo Pordoi is a staple of the Giro d’Italia, offering stunning rocky backdrops and 11.8km of demanding riding.

It’s a gentler climb than some of those Alpine giants, with the gradient touching nine per cent at its maximum and hanging much nearer the 6.8 per cent average otherwise.

But there are hairpins aplenty and, riders to have tackled the Maratona dles Dolomites can attest to the fact it’s not a climb to be taken lightly.

Planning a big ride? You can also choose to go left at the junction halfway up the climb, rather than right, and take on the tougher Passo Sella as well.

Pontives

Pontives is the final climb of stage 18 of the Giro d’Italia, and offers a bit of everything – at least as far as climbing goes.

It is a climb which gets progressively tougher, with the gradient ticking up as the kilometres to the summit tick down – four per cent, six per cent, nine per cent, 13 per cent… the steepest section is also likely to be the perfect platform for a stage-winning attack at the Giro.

But the climbing isn’t the only obstacle – as the climb levels off, there is then a 500m section of cobbles to tackle in the high mountains. As we said, there’s a bit of everything.