Cannobio to Malesco | Gravel Health

The whole Valle Cannobina, twice in five days: 22km up from Lake Maggiore to the pass at the top, where a stone reads “Passo Marco Pantani”, down into the Val Vigezzo to Malesco, and back. About 54.5km and 1,250–1,300m each time.

In May 2026 I spent two weeks in Cannobio, and this was the ride I did twice: on Tuesday 12 May, titled simply "Cannobio to Malesco Stunning", and again on Saturday 16 May. It's the same road I'd ridden in October 2021 on the Valley Loop, up the valley that Cannobio sits at the foot of, and it's one long, steady climb.

The Passo Dello Scopello And Marco Pantani

The top of the valley road is the Passo dello Scopello, at about 970m, where the road crosses from the Valle Cannobina into the Val Vigezzo. To the Italian state that's still its name. But at the top there's a stone that reads Passo Marco Pantani, put up by a local fan club of the climber who won the Giro and the Tour in 1998 and died in 2004. Lower down, the road also passes a memorial to Alfredo Di Dio and Attilio Moneta, partisan commanders killed at the Sasso di Finero on 12 October 1944. Over the top is Malesco, in the Val Vigezzo, with its station on the Vigezzina railway from Domodossola to Locarno.

Ride 1Cannobio To Malesco, StunningTuesday 12 May 2026

Ride 1, from my GPS track. Green: Cannobio. Up the Valle Cannobina past Spoccia and Cursolo to the pass (red), down to Malesco (white) and back. This ride on Strava →

54.6kmDistance

1,252mClimbing

966mHighest point (the pass)

204mLowest point (Cannobio)

3h 00mMoving time

13:40–17:11Out on the road (3h 31m)

18.2km/hAverage moving speed

51.2km/hTop speed

130 / 163Heart rate, average / max (bpm)

1,744Calories

How The Day Went

13:40 – 15:18

Up the valleyCannobio → Spoccia → Cursolo → the pass

21.9km210m → 939m+729m3.3% average

15:18 – 15:22

Passo Marco Pantani966m

photos

15:22 – 15:28

Into the Val Vigezzo→ Malesco

3.9km−165m

15:29 – 15:56

StopMalesco

26 min

15:56 – 16:13

Back overMalesco → the pass

3.4km+170m4.9% average

16:13 – 17:11

Down to the lake→ Cannobio

25km−730m

An hour and 38 minutes of climbing from the lake to the pass, 729m in 22km, steady all the way. I took the photos at the top at 15:21, the bike against the Pantani stone, then dropped into Malesco for a break, climbed back over and had 25km of downhill to the lake.

A black road bike leaning against a carved stone memorial reading Passo Marco Pantani at the top of the pass — 15:21: the bike against the stone at the top.

A carved stone at the top of the pass reading Passo Marco Pantani 2004 — Passo Marco Pantani, 2004.

The road at the top of the pass with an information board under the trees — The top of the pass.

A deep wooded gorge seen from the valley road on the way down — 16:20, on the way down: the gorge below Creves.

The narrow valley road running under overhanging rock with a crash barrier — 16:20: the road under the rocks.

Ride 2Cannobio To Malesco And Back, AgainSaturday 16 May 2026

Ride 2, from my GPS track. The same road four days later. This ride on Strava →

54.5kmDistance

1,312mClimbing

966mHighest point (the pass)

205mLowest point (Cannobio)

2h 44mMoving time

13:47–16:58Out on the road (3h 15m)

19.9km/hAverage moving speed

54.3km/hTop speed

137Average heart rate (bpm)

1,702Calories

How The Day Went

13:47 – 15:15

Up the valleyCannobio → the pass

22.1km+729m88 min9 min faster

15:15 – 15:23

Into the Val Vigezzo→ Malesco

3.9km

15:24 – 15:45

StopMalesco

21 min

15:45 – 16:04

Back overMalesco → the pass

3.4km+171m

16:04 – 16:54

Down to the lake→ Cannobio

24.6km50 min

Four days later I did it again, and the legs were better for the week: the climb from the lake to the pass took 88 minutes instead of 98, and the whole ride was 16 minutes shorter. 54.5km and 1,312m. (The heart-rate strap gave a spike to 197 that day, so I've left the maximum out.)

Where It Is

The pass (marker) at the head of the Valle Cannobina, with Malesco below it in the Val Vigezzo and Cannobio on the lake.