Closed to motorists: Cyclists will have free travel on these pass roads in 2026
Gitta Beimfohr
· 08.03.2026
The Stelvio Bike Day is perhaps the most important holiday for all friends of the art of mountain biking. It takes place for the 24th time in August and although last year thick rain clouds and single-digit temperatures gripped the legendary 48 hairpin bends in the Stelvio National Park, 6,772 participants didn't miss out on the fun.
The famous Sellaronda Bike Day, on which four Dolomite passes can be conquered over 58 kilometres without engine noise, also attracts 10,000 to 20,000 participants every year. This is one reason why the event now takes place twice a year and will be held for the 20th time next June.
The masterpieces of road construction
But what is it that attracts so many cyclists to the car-free pass roads that they even travel from Australia and Japan for them? Pass roads are considered masterpieces of road construction. Laid out in tight loops, they climb up even the steepest mountain flanks, sometimes even cutting through insurmountable rock faces. With every hairpin bend, the height, the panorama and the excitement of what the view on the other side of the pass will hold.
Being able to pedal all this under your own steam and without engine noise and exhaust fumes is a great experience in itself. Then there's the variety of cyclists of all categories, because it's not about time. Next to the recumbent cyclist, the ambitious trekking cyclist with an electric drive pedals and talks shop, the marathon racer has the whole family in tow, a road bike group tries to break the Strava record. There are refreshment stations and workshop tents along the way to help with hunger and breakdowns. All in all, 34 days of this kind of cycling experience will be possible this summer:
Car-free passes in Germany
The German Alps don't have any mountain passes that could compete with a Sellaronda or an Alpe d'Huez cult - that's true. But these car-free passes are also about the community feeling. That's why the Sudelfeld Pass is setting a good example this year:
9 May: Bikeday Sudelfeld-Pass in Bayrischzell
Motorcyclists dominate the Sudelfeld road in the Bavarian Alps 364 days a year. They prefer to rattle up the 1123 metre high pass from the Inn Valley side (14-15 km). But on Saturday 9 May, the asphalt hairpin bends will belong to cyclists. In addition, a mountain time trial from the Grafenherberge to the Walleralm is planned for racing enthusiasts and a gravel variant for gravel bikers.
- Date: 9 May, from 9-16 h
- Starting points: Bayrischzell, Brannenburg, Oberes Sudelfeld & Oberaudorf
- Info: bynd-projects.com
France: Legends (passes) of passion
Alsace, Vosges, Jura - our French neighbours also celebrate not only high alpine but also smaller crossings with a cycling day. However, here you usually roll over the painted names of legendary Tour de France heroes. And the mystical ascent par excellence is of course also included.
7 June: Vosges/Alsace - Col du Calvaire & Col du Louschbach
"Col'Attitude" is the name of the event that reserves different Vosges passes for cyclists only every year. This year, it's the road bends to the Col du Calvaire (1144 m): from Orbey, it's 10 kilometres and 580 metres in altitude that lead over the scenic Pays Welche and Lac Blanc.
Or you can start in Plainfaing and tackle the Col du Louschbach on the 12-kilometre forest road to reach Lac Blanc after 436 metres in altitude.
- Date: Sunday, 7 June, from 8-12 a.m.
- Starting points: Orbey or Plainfaing
- Info: visit.alsace/en/
13 June/11 July/8 August/12 September: Franz. Jura - Col du Grand Colombier
The 1501 metre high pass is located south-west of Lake Geneva and connects the Rhone Valley with the Groin Valley. The 1200 metre climb is rewarded with an unobstructed view of the Mont Blanc massif and the accolade of having cracked a Tour de France pass of the "Hors Catégorie". The western ramp from the centre of the Jura with Virieu-le-Petit as the starting point is particularly notorious, reaching a gradient of 20 percent at its peak.
Anyone who completes all four ascent variants to the Grand Colombier in one day can call themselves a "Grand-Maître" and join the "Fêlés du Grand Colombier" club (the madmen of the Grand Colombier). This is probably best achieved on the four "Journées Cyclo" per year, as the roads are then closed to cars for eight hours.
- Dates: Saturdays, 13 June / 11 July / 8 August / 12 September, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Starting points: Culoz and Anglefort
- Info: ain.fr/journees-cyclo-du-grand-colombier
30 June: Savoie - Col de la Croix de Fer
In the Tour de France, this 2067 metre high Alpine pass of the "Hors Catégorie" serves as a prelude to the climb up to Alpe d'Huez: from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, a whopping 1620 metres in altitude pile up over a distance of 29.3 kilometres. There are three tunnels to cross, but also bird's eye views over the Arves Valley to marvel at.
- Dates: Tuesday, 30 June from 8-12 a.m.
- Starting point: Glandon
- Info: velo-maurienne.com
7 July to 28 August: Alpe d'Huez
It doesn't get more cult and mystical than this: the famous Tour de France climb from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez is 14.4 kilometres long and gives you goosebumps with its 21 numbered hairpin bends. The total elevation gain of 1100 metres has an average gradient of 7.9 percent. Many don't even wait for the seven car-free mornings in summer - hundreds of cyclists from all over the world make a pilgrimage up here every day.
- Dates: Tuesdays, 7.7./ 14.7./ 21.7./28.7./4.8./18.8./25.8. from 9-11 a.m.
- Starting point: Le Bourg-d'Oisans
- Info: en.routedesgrandesalpes.com/grands-cols/alpe-huez
Italy: Military road miracle
Most of the pass roads on the other side of the Brenner have a sad past: they were carved into the rocks by the Austrian Kaiserjägers and Italians during the First World War as supply routes. In partly vertical rock faces, in order to remain as undetected as possible by the enemy.
To this day, road construction engineers rub their eyes in amazement at how such adventurous routes could be created in such a short space of time using the simplest of tools. Here are the most spectacular pass roads in the Dolomites, on Monte Grappa and on the Stelvio Pass, including their car-free cycle routes:
23 May from 8 am - 2:30 pm Monte Grappa Bike Day
24 May from 9 am - 1 pm: Campo Moro
30 May from 9 am - 1 pm: Passo San Marco
6 June + 12 September from 8:30 - 15:30: Sellaronda Bike Day (Passo Sella, Passo Gardena, Passo Pordoi and Campolongo)
8 June / 11 July / 27 August from 9 am - 1 pm: Laghi di Cancano
20 June from 8:30 - 14:30: Dolomites Bike Day (Campolongo, Falzarego, Valparola
28 June from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Splügen Pass
5 July / 30 August: Passo Gavia
9 July / 28 August: Passo Mortirolo
1 August from 7pm - midnight: Campo Moro
29 August from 8 am - 4 pm: Stelvio Pass (Stelvio Bike)
19 September from 9 - 16:30: Mendel Pass
22 September: Niger Pass (1774 m) and Karer Pass
Swiss passes closed to cars
28 June: from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Splügen Pass
6 September: Albula Pass
13 September: Klausen Pass
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
