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technical info
The stage tackles a challenging climb early on, followed by 150 km of downhill and flat terrain. After cresting the Simplon Pass, the route features a technical descent leading back to Italy, with several tunnels. The roads are wide and straight in the first part, from the border to Lake Maggiore, and more intricate along the lakeshore. The route is somewhat rougher in the final part, past Sesto Calende, but still on well‑paved roads. Common traffic calming devices will be found in urban areas.
Final kilometres
The stage finale is played out mostly in urban areas, with no particular impediments. The roads are straight, with hardly any curves. The pitch over the final kilometre hovers just below the 3% mark. The home straight (300 m) is on 8 m wide tarmac.
start / finish
climb detail
final kilometres
itinerary timetable
tourist info
Host city:
Sierre
Overview
An extraordinary valley, nestled in the heart of the Alps, with 300 days of sunshine a year. From the valley to the glaciers via impressive vineyards, its landscapes offer an ideal setting for outdoor activities, be it hiking, cycling, mountain biking or skiing. But Valais is also a region to be savoured, thanks to its authentic regional cuisine and local produce, including wine.
In heart of Valais, Sierre is Switzerland’s leading wine producing region. Because of its impressive sunshine record, Sierre richly deserves its nickname “Cité du Soleil”. Nestling between Val d’Anniviers, Crans-Montana and Leukerbad, the Sierre region is a landscape shaped by vineyards. In our region, wine is a way of life. Sitting on the canton’s linguistic boundary, Sierre is proud to have been formed by the emergence of its different quartiers and the character of the people who live here.
With festivals, events, exhibitions, sporting events, shows and concerts, there’s plenty going on in the Sierre region. Come and join us at these thrilling events!
Food
Our passion for nature bears its own unique fruit.
If you like natural products, you will love what Valais produces. Here, we grow tasty seasonings and golden grains, wonderful fruit and excellent wines. Rich harvests infused with thousands of hours of sunshine, and the passion of our wine growers, herdsmen and farmers. Here, in these wild mountains, we have been learning how to reach the heights of quality for centuries.
The difference lies in the flavours: our specialty meats and cheeses are indescribably delicious. Our wildlife is further evidence that everything which comes from Valais is something quite special: Valais Blackneck goats, Valais Blacknose sheep, strong-willed, lovable Herens cattle that are typically native to our valleys.
Wine and beverage
With vineyards covering 5,000 hectares, Valais is the largest wine-making region in Switzerland: magnificent landscapes with unusually sunny hillsides, almost 60 grape varieties that form the basis for a number of great wines, and traditions that lend them character and identity.
In Sierre, wine is far more than just something to attract visitors – it’s a way of life, an everyday pleasure. The region is Switzerland’s premier wine producer. With some 5,000 vineyard parcels belonging to 2,500 producers, wine is everywhere. Part of our culture in museums, educational on the Wine Trail, wine is also a pleasure, in our cellars, wine shops, cafés and restaurants, and at events like VINEA Swiss Wine Fair, the Vineyard Walk and “Le Printemps du Vin” wine event every spring. The Sierre region’s bistros and restaurants will be delighted to recommend an iconic local wine to accompany the delicious dishes they serve up.
Points of Interest
A fascinating wine trail and museum
Waymarked and easily accessed all the year round, the wine trail runs along quiet tracks, passing by the wine-growers’ homes, through vineyards ans the impressive Gorges de la Raspille, a site of outstanding natural beauty. 80 information boards are placed at intervals along the rail. The point out the features of the landscape, the different types of vines, the techniques and history of wine-growing. An educational experience to enjoy with the whole family and completely free of charge. The wine trails runs from Sierre to Salgesch and links the two parts of the Wine Museum, which looks back over the history of this exceptional mountain wine-producing culture, inspired by tradition and passion. Consisting of a centre for temporary exhibitions immediately adjacent to the Château de Villa in Sierre, a prestigious showcase for local produce and the wines of the Valais, and a permanent exhibition in the Maison Zumofen in Salgesch, the two sites bring all aspects of the Valais wine-producing tradition to life in a fascinating display.
The Géronde lake
Géronde is a favourite beauty spot where locals and visitors like to meet up and relax with their friends. Nestling among the hills and vineyards, it is an idyllic little recreational and swimming destination less than 12 minutes on foot from Sierre railway station. Accessible free of charge all year round, the Lac de Géronde and surrounding area offer a calming mix of swimming, walking and relaxation in unspoilt surroundings. Once an arm of the wild River Rhône, the Géronde site is complemented to the north by two smaller lakes, unsurprisingly known as the Petits Lacs, which are well worth the trip.
Cassano Magnago
Overview
Cassano Magnago is an Italian town of 21560 inhabitants in the Province of Varese in Lombardy and its land area has an altitude ranging from 242 m. to 321 m. above sea level. Cassano Magnago, originally “Cassiano Magniago”, was elevated to the rank of City after the Presidential Decree of 10th November 1997. The city has ancient origins, testified by the discovery of a cinerary urn attributable to the Golasecca Culture (from 1000 to 500 B.C.). The true symbol of Cassano Magnago is Saint Maurice Tower, dating back to the Late Roman Age, used as a signal tower and rebuilt as the bell tower of the church of the same name. The history of Cassano is the history of a territory which, without forgetting the old presence of the Visconti from the 18th century, began to host noble families from Milan and Gallarate as well as presenting archaeological, religious and naturalistic evidences represented by: Villa Oliva with Magana Park, Villa Buttafava, Visconti Castle, ex Church of Saint Julius, churches of Saint Mary, Saint Julius, Saint Peter, Saint Martin and Saint Anne, Remembrance Avenue, Oasi Boza e City Wood.
Food
- I purscelitt da Cassan: typical good luck cake of Cassano Magnago, made in biscuit or marzipan, but strictly piglet-shaped. It is said that Queen Teodolinda, passing through Saint Julius, didn’t meet a living soul except for a few piglets, the “purscelitt”, which rooted along the street. Struck by such manifest poverty, she took off the precious crown from her head and gave it to the Cassanesi, to get money to help the poor. From this legacy, the “Charity of the Crown Charity” would originate, with which the parish of Saint Julius supported the poor until the nineteenth century.
- Chiscieau cunt i fig: leftover bread dough mixed with figs, raisins, sugar and butter
- Frucch e maroch: sweets similar to amaretti, made of sugar and egg whites, whose name originates from the rivalry be-tween the inhabitants of the district of Saint Julius and those of Saint Mary.
Points of interest
EX CHURCH OF SAN GIULIO
The ex-church of Saint Julius is the monument that sums up the entire history of the city, from the dawn of history to the XXI century. It was built on the ruins of a previous Late Roman structure, whose remains have been found, along with traces of a piling dating back to protohistoric, or even prehistoric, age. The church probably owes its origin to Saint Julius himself, a Greek priest of the 4th Century. The Late Roman building preceding the first church may have been a pre-Christian place of worship. On the ruins of the early medieval church, a second temple was built during the Renaissance. To pay the construction costs of the new church, in 1853, the millennial place of worship was sold to the Municipality, which transformed it into a Town hall. The municipal venue was transferred to Via Volta at the beginning of the 20th century, the building was used for other purposes, also becoming “Casa del fascio” (headquarter of the fascist party). Its singular character consists precisely in this continuous reuse. The frescoes that decorate the walls of the second church, well described in the deeds of the pastoral visit made by Cardinal Federico Borromeo in 1622, have been recovered. Of particular note is the valuable painting portraying Saint John the Baptist’s Beheading, preserved in the sacristy.
VILLA OLIVA
The villa was inhabited until 1775 by the Bossi family of Cassano Magnago and from 1775 to 1828 by the Agazzini family. From 1828 it was inhabited by the Oliva family, from which the villa takes its name, till 1963 when the last heir Pietro Oliva died. Upon his death the villa was donated to the Parish of Saint Mary of the Oak and subsequently purchased by the Municipality. At the beginning of the 90s renovation works began and restored its former glory. Entering the main door we find the STAIRCASE OF EUROPE, so called for the fresco painted on the back wall, the “Abduction of Europa”; the GALLERY OF THE FOUR CROWNED MEN which leads directly to the garden; the CANDELSTICKS HALL built in the last quarter of the 18th century; the HALL OF HERCULES which is one of the most spectacular rooms in the villa, with a central rose window decorated with plants motifs: it is so called because four episodes from the life of Hercules are depicted there; the NORDIC LANDSCAPES HALL with floral motifs in shades of grey, green and brown; the LITTLE DAMES HALL commissioned by the Oliva family, with a coffered wooden roof with scrolls, shells, acanthus leaves and festoons; the HUNTER’S ROOM built in the 18th century. On the external walls of the villa there are TWO SUN CLOCKS made by the Bossi family in 1723.
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DEL CERRO
The church of Saint Mary of the Oak was built in 1280, year of its foundation by Ottone Visconti, who wanted it as the chapel of the nearby Visconteo Castle. Evidence of its ancientness is the beautiful bell tower, in Lombard Romanic style, the only primitive element after the transformation of the church, which took place in 1825. The building was lengthened westward by reversing the original orientation (with a west facade, today east). Inside the church there is the splendid Carrera organ, dating back to 1834, a jewel of local organ building art. The pride of the church is the valuable cycle of frescoes by Luigi Morgari and Aristide Secchi, painted between 1895 and 1905, which decorates every surface synthesizing figures and biblical themes up to the stories of the saints. Since 1570 the church guards the relic of the “Holy Thorn”, found by S. Carlo Borromeo near the castle, and attributed by the tradition to the crown that Christ wore on his head.
