Roadbike - Legendary climbs - Menador
Race cycling • Valsugana, Lagorai, Vigolana and Valle dei Mocheni
Roadbike - Legendary climbs - Menador
Looking at the side of the mountain from a distance it seems wounded, approaching it turns out that in those gaps passes one of the most beautiful and representative roads of the morphology and history of Trentino.
The road of the Menador Passo Vezzena tells pages of war. Built by the Austrians, it is also called the Kaiserjaeger road. From Caldonazzo, in Valsugana, it led to the fortifications of Lavarone and Vezzena and was strategic in the defense of the valley and the city of Trento in the great war. It is not a particularly long climb, just over 8 kilometers, but it must be approached with caution. The gradient is always above 9 percent and in some places it reaches 13. From the very beginning, the pedaling is challenging. The woods and the coolness help to become familiar with the fatigue, but the relief is short. A narrow strip of asphalt twisted to the white stone ridges with two short tunnels that remind us of the ingenuity of man in its construction. Below the valley is shown in all its beauty. At the Belvedere hairpin a stop is a must. The lakes of Caldonazzo and Levico, with the villages, appear as a mosaic of soft colors. A place that has been discovered as a tourist already at the time of the Danube Empire. After 8 kilometers and 200 meters you reach the top. The road flattens out and is accompanied by a crossroads that leads in other directions. We are in the land of the Cimbri, the German-speaking island that has survived the passing of centuries. The bicycle has made history.
