Susa - Moncenisio

Starting from Susa, leaving the town center towards Val Cenischia: after a short descent a long undulating straight between Venaus and Novalesa begins the challenging climb. The landscape is remarkable, at the foot of Rocciamelone with the mountains and waterfalls surrounding the route. Passing through Venaus and Novalesa, historical places of passage and rest since the Middle Ages, you can breathe the air of ancient history between the secular abbey of Novalesa, the old inns, and the treasures collected in the parish churches. The climb from Novalesa cuts through a forest of ash and birch trees, with wild service trees coloring the autumn for about 7 km. It is worth stopping in the characteristic Moncenisio and admiring the surrounding mountains and the water mirror of Lago Grande. From here the road continues for a few kilometers until the intersection with SS24 near a royal Napoleonic shelter, once inhabited by those employed for road maintenance both in winter and good weather. The steady climb towards Bar Cenisio leads to a flat straight at the Piana di San Nicolao. On the horizon stand the wide hairpins of the Gran Scala that climb up to the base of the dam of Lago Moncenisio. You are already officially in France and from there, following the asphalt road, you reach the rest area near the Pyramid, the characteristic little church that dominates from above Lake Moncenisio nestled in a spectacular mountain setting.