We knew each other from Instagram, but by coincidence we met at the top of Col d’Izoard. What are the chances? Our Deux Mille ambassador, Paolo Stroppiana, had taken on a massive ride from Turin. Our group had only started 90 mins earlier from Briancon.
Paolo is an independent ski instructor in Courchevel 1850 during the winter months, while he rides the highest cols during the summer.
To describe col-hunting in one word, the answer is easy: “Freedom!”
“I can take all the time in the world climbing cols. It doesn’t matter how fast I ride or how hard it is, because at the some point there will be the descent. I want to do as many cols as I can. I want to fill my eyes with the beauty of the mountains and the nature.
Every col is a different landscape, a different effort, a different experience, but it’s worth any single meter of it. My favorite col is Galibier.”
– Paolo Stroppiana
