Heading south to the Alps for the first Control Point of the Race, TCRNo9 riders face a parcours that follows in the millenia-old tracks of pass-storming armies and traders — zig-zagging across the Swiss and Italian borders, over the high cols and through the steeply-gorged valleys of the now famous San Bernardino and Splugen Passes, before plunging to Chiavenna at the foot of the Maloja Pass. 2023 marks the 200-year anniversary of the modern road over the Passo dello Spluga.
Here riders will free route from the end of the parcours to Control Point 1 in Livigno. Perched high in the Italian Alps, the location will force racers to remain in the mountains en route to Control Point 2. Livigno’s name stems from the old German word for ‘avalanche’ — a reminder to riders not to underestimate conditions here, something they will do at their peril as they traverse some of the highest paved roads in the region before being deposited at the foot of the mighty Stelvio National Park.