🚵 CASTELLARO (Castegnero) – The Mortirolo of the Berici Hills

The Castellaro, also known as the "Mortirolo dei Berici," features a truly breathtaking first section, despite the recent resurfacing (making it less challenging for road bikes). The incredibly challenging "corkscrew" section and the dreaded wall, nearly 20% in gradient, pose a threat to even the most experienced cyclist. Once past the treacherous initial waves, the road becomes gentle and harmonious, like the lush surrounding nature. A climb for brave captains!

A long, nervous, uneven climb. The Castellaro doesn't crush you with continuous walls, but wears you down meter after meter. It's a black of resistance, more mental than explosive: a roller coaster of slopes that never gives any real respite.

📊 General information

• Location: Castegnero (VI)
• Side: Castegnero plain → Berici ridge
• Length: 5,73 km
• Difference: 355 m
• Average slope: 5,5%
• Maximum slope: ~16–17%
• Departure altitude: ~ 25 m
• Arrival altitude: ~ 380 m
• Classification: ⚫ Black

🧠 Technical analysis of the climb

The altimetric profile tells the story of a climb broken into three acts, with a deadly central heart.

🔹 Zone 1 – Deceptive Approach (0 – 1,2 km)

• Gradient: 3–5%
• Smooth background, flowing rhythm

The road climbs gently between fields and the first houses. The pace is mid-distance, but it's a trap: if you push too hard here, you'll pay dearly later. Your legs turn easily, but Castellaro is just studying you.

🔹 Zone 2 – The Hidden Wall (1,2 – 2,6 km)

• Gradient: 8–13%, with peaks above 15%
• Chromatic red line on the profile

Here the climb change skinThe road narrows, the forest closes in, and the slope steepens without warning.
Sharp curves, sudden bursts, broken rhythm: this is the part that determines the ranking.
The famous 17/18% “CORKSCREW” is iconic and feared!

This sector is deadly because:

• arrives without a launch pad
• forces constant changes of pace
• wears down the lactic threshold

It's the real one judge of the climb.

🔹 Zone 3 – False relief and final wear and tear (2,6 – 5,7 km)

• Average gradient: 4–6%
• Continuous ups and downs

Once the hardest stretch is over, there is no rest: Castellaro enters the most insidious phase.
The slopes decrease, but never flatten. It's an endless sequence of:

• false flats
• curves on the coast
• short relaunches

Here the complete runners win: those who still have legs after the central climb.

🧩 Road sensations

The Castellaro is a climb that it's not scary at first, but it grows inside.
At first it's fluid, then it suddenly becomes bad, finally it slowly empties you.

Typical sensations:

• surprise when the road steepens
• anger in the central bends
• silent effort in the end

It doesn't break you, it consumes you.

🌿 Naturalistic aspects

The climb crosses one of the greenest stretches of the western Berici Hills:

• cultivated countryside in the first few kilometers
• oak, hornbeam and chestnut woods in the central part
• panoramic clearings towards the Vicenza plain

In the higher sections, between one bend and another, spectacular views open up towards the plain and, on clear days, all the way to the Prealps.

🏛️ Artistic and historical places

The Castellaro area is rich in:

• ancient rural stone farmhouses
• historic districts of Berici (Villabalzana church)
• road routes of medieval origin

The name itself recalls ancient hilltop fortifications, guarding the plain below.

🛠️ How to deal with it

This is not a climb to attack: it is a climb to surgically manage.

Ideal strategy:

• First km: agility, below threshold
• Central section: short gear ratio, constant cadence, no jerks
• Last km: resistance pace, sitting, round

Recommended ratios:

• Compact 50/34
• Minimum cassette 11–32 (better 34 for amateurs)

Here he who knows pays records, not the one who starts strong.

🧬 Identikit of the climb

🏁 In short

Il castellaro it's not a wall, it's a cycling maturity test.
Those who underestimate it explode, those who interpret it well reach the top with the feeling of having tamed a real climb.

A black one not for slope, but for tactical intelligence required.