This weekend, I did the Stelvio in the virtual world on Rouvy and noticed something that I also see on Alpe du Zwift for example. On the virtual platforms, the gradient almost goes entirely flat in switchbacks so that you almost spin out. I wonder if the real Stelvio is really built like that. I have never ridden it but the switchback climbs I did were far from completely flat in the switchbacks, especially if you go on the inside line.
Has anybody ridden the Stelvio in real life and can tell me?
1 Like
Thats odd as I can’t say I’ve ever found that on Alpe du Zwift and I’ve done a few races up it. Although I’ve not ridden it recently but I wonder if for Zwift at least if the trainer difficulty messes with it at all.
2 Likes
Oh dear. FIrst off, Rouvy has multiple “Stelvio” routes. Some of them are shitty, bad gradients, or gradients lagging behind what you see. So that is sometimes a hit and miss. And yes, there is one “Stelvio” route from “Bormio” which really suffers from that a lot.
Now, I am a big fan of “Rouvy”. Have done “Stelvio” and “Gavia” in real life and dozens of time on Rouvy. It feels to me the same. My time up “Gavia” and the excertion matches real life. To the spot. Emotionally the same. I know where the sign is for the resting hut off at the ski resort up from Santa Caterina, I always looks forward to the switchback around the “Malga Valle dell’Alpe”, where I always seem to hit pissy weather, and where you know it’s gonna hurt for a good mile. I know when it turns flat and you hit the lake on top, sprinting like there is no tomorrow. Ah well … Just saying that sometimes where I ride something I had done on Rouvy before, it feels like I had been there before. Little details, like “oh, they are done with the construcion there” …
Stelvio and flat switchbacks. Yes. They are less steep, but not entirely flat. Depending on your condition, you either attack on the inside line out of the saddle, or you take a breather on the outside line. Most of the time you need to shift. Usually 1 or 2 gears (from 32-27 to 32-24 or 32-21 in my case). So in real life you got to pay attention and judge the steepness of the switchback. This is where Di2 actually is a real plus, given how often you shift to be in the optimal cadence range.
1 Like
