Surrounded for most of its length by thick woodlands, the road rises with wide bends until reaching the summit of the Tre Croci Pass connecting Cortina d’Ampezzo with Misurina and its lake. Eleven kilometres from Auronzo with an average gradient of 6.3%. Instead, from Cortina, the distance is 8.1 km with an average gradient of 7.1%.
On reaching the summit, you will see the three crosses from which the pass takes its name, flanked by a small church, and you can take a break after the climb.
Featured in the Giro d’Italia on several occasions, that of 1981 made history when right here on the Tre Croci pass, the finale of the Giro was decided.
Battaglin "the Eaglet" of Marostica resisted an attack by Saronni and Prim and continued to climb, surrounded by a crowd cheering him on to gain precious seconds for the final victory.
Curiosities and tips
- The Giro d’Italia addressed this pass for the first time in 1966 in the Moena-Belluno stage.
- The name of Tre Croci derives from the three crosses erected in commemoration of a mother and her two children who departed in search of work in 1789 but died of frostbite on the pass.
- Among the various routes departing from here, there is also the one leading to the famous Sorapiss Lake with its turquoise blue waters.
