The Strada dell'Assietta, also known as Strada Provinciale (SP) 173 del Colle dell'Assietta, is a 34 km-long dirt road between Sestriere and the SP 172 at Pian dell'Alpe, near the Colle delle Finestre.
The road is almost entirely above 2000 metres altitude and so is only open from June 1 to October 31.[1] It runs along the ridge that separates the Val Chisone and Susa valley and passes several mountain passes between these valleys including Colle dell'Assietta (2,474 m), Colle Blegier (2,381 m), Colle Costa Piana (2,313 m), Colle Bourget (2,299 m) and Col Basset (2,424 m).[2]
The road was built in the late 1800s for military purposes,[3] and the ruins of forts still remain.[4] Today, some farmers use the road to access their land, but the primary use is by tourists, particularly people on touring motorbikes and mountain bikes. The surface is rough dirt and rock and is generally only wide enough for one vehicle.[3]
The eastern end of the road is very close to the Colle delle Finestre (a road that is also mostly unpaved on the northern side), which has been featured in several professional cycling races, including Stage 20 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia.[5] The Strada dell'Assietta itself hasn't been used in any professional races, but is the focus of the mountain bike race the Tour dell'Assietta, and it was used as the second checkpoint in the 2015 Transcontinental Race (a non-stop, unsupported bicycle race across Europe normally done on road bicycles).[6]
References
edit- ^ "The Assietta Road". stradadellassietta.it. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "High Resolution Map - The Assietta Road" (PDF). www.stradadellassietta.it. Nucom Media, on behalf of Regione Piemonte/Provincia Torino/Comunità Montana del Pinerolese/Comunità Montana Alta Valle di Susa.
- ^ a b "Strada dell'Assietta & Strada Militare Colle delle Finestre". cycling-challenge.com. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Fortified System". stradadellassietta.it. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Giro d'Italia video: on-board on the Colle delle Finestre". cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company Ltd. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ Benson, Cory. "Unsupported racing from Flanders to Istanbul: 3rd annual Transcontinental Race 2015". bikerumor.com. BikeBoardMedia, Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2015.