Stage 6: Darfo Boario Terme – Valle del Chiese
The Passo Croce Domini crowns the king's stage of the TOUR Transalp 2025, with a huge mountain in its path between Valcamonica and Valle del Chiese. And once you reach the banks of the river Chiese, it's far from over.
Is it acceptable to put together a king's stage of the TOUR Transalp using only second- and third-class mountain roads, just to have built the longest and toughest stage at the end? No, of course not. There has to be a special category hammer in the altitude profile, one like the Stilfserjoch, or a climbing monster like the road up to the Passo Crocedomini. From Darfo Boario Terme, the road climbs steadily up to the highest point, with 1750 metres of climbing in one go just waiting to be cursed. Only a few flat kilometres in the haze of the starting point allow the legs to slowly warm up. The Crocedomini is a tough challenge and therefore a true centrepiece of a real king's stage.
As on the Vivione the day before, the road up there is also a trip through a deserted world. After Bienno, the last larger village, the hustle and bustle is over and the road winds its way up through small, quiet mountain villages, later with little traffic across meadows up to the pass at 1895 metres - and a little further to the actual, lesser-known pass summit, the Goletto di Cadino at 1940 metres. At the very top, the landscape is characterised by vast alpine pastures, lush greenery overwhelms the sensory receptors. The mountains no longer scratch. Covered in this luminous carpet, they gently caress the sky. The cows walk around and watch the spectacle in amazement, the alpine pastures smell of herbs and cheese. It's heavenly up here. A place of longing! So, it's worth forgetting the exertions and tackling this really beautiful pass.
The descent into the Valle del Chiese on the northern shore of Lago d'Idro is racy and spiced up with a short counter-climb, so that by the time you reach the other valley you have already covered 2000 metres in altitude. But Roncone is still a long way off. More than 20 kilometres further north, 400 metres further up, the finish of this stage awaits. You could now roll up along the river, but the pure spirit of discovery, the desire to explore the most beautiful sides of the Chiese valley and a pinch of megalomania now put pure reason in its place.
From Cimego, a small road winds its way back up to Boniprati. The reward along the way is a fantastic panoramic view of Chiese, a little Trentino culture in the picturesque mountain village of Castel Condino and the certainty that the destination ‘Boniprati’ translates as ‘good meadows’ and that even in Italy you wouldn't call an ugly spot that. This is an idyllic place to rest. If you don't have time for that, you need to gather your wits and work up the tension for a rapid descent on a narrow road down to Pieve di Bono. The destination is much closer here, but there is still one last step in the way. This is now mastered on a rewarding little diversions via the Val Daone, a side valley. This short detour from the river is also worthwhile. Once you have left the picturesque villages of Bersone, Daone and Praso behind you, you will no longer wonder how much you have already travelled, but how much there is still to see of this charming valley, this hidden insider tip in the hinterland of Lake Garda. Incidentally, there is already a lake at the finish of this stage, which is a foretaste of the big finish on the last day. Lago di Roncone is much, much smaller, but it's enough for a refreshing dip. And there is also a bar on the shore. After all, anyone who has completed this enormous stage can celebrate a little.
