A long ride up the valley from Omegna on a road that gets steeper and steeper. There is a cafe at the end. Monti Capello is the trail head for walks into the mountains. Road is not too busy.

This challenging climb begins in the center of Omegna. Following the lake initially you traverse the hamlet of Cireggio.

The main road along the lake is very busy, not for everyone. Afterwards you can take a backroad, in this case by Oggebio back to Intra / Verbania.

The col de Chamrousse (1795 m.) can be climbed by road bike from 3 sides. By far the hardest is the tiny but ueber steep route from Sechilienne.

DescriptionSouth east facing but quite a bit of shade as you climb through the woods. The climb to Alpe Ompio is 7km at 8% giving 550meters total from the village of Bieno.

I took this climb by error. From Lesa it is a hard 5.75km at 9% covering around 550 vertical meters. The road ends at a monastery and there is a very good trattoria with lake views.

We spent the first half of the ride dodging showers then decided to turn around where we met Colin, a Scots guy who'd punctured and had some issues with his tires.

There are over 40 hairpins on the 450 meter/8% climb to Monte Rosso. This has the advantage that the climb is never too steep. The road on the last km to the restaurant is not in great condition.

Took the train up to Montmelian to ride the cult climb of the Marocaz. It is a local favourite as the SE side has little traffic and is very Provencal in character.