Tom Jeffery’s Post Ride Report
The Maratona dles Dolomites is a ‘gran fondo’ race on closed roads that takes place in the first weekend of July, in the Dolomite mountains of northern Italy. Like the Etape du Tour in france, the Maratona is a significant challenge; the long route is 138km and features 4,230m of climbing over 7 passes. The event is a big deal in Italy, with 6 hours of live coverage on Italian TV, yet somehow the Maratona is not so well known in the UK as the Etape. Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel
That is a shame, people are definitely missing out. For one, the setting is stunning. The Dolomites feature immense granite cliffs and thickly-wooded valleys. Villages are small and traditional. Positioned in the southern Tyrol, German is spoken as much as Italian and the local Ladin dialect even more so. A lot of accommodation is in small, family-run hotels with a strong tradition of hospitality.
The Maratona has been run since 1987 and after some variation in the early years it has settled on a route which is the same each year, and that course starts and ends at the same place. The practical advantage of this will be apparent to anyone who has taken part in the Etape du Tour; riding a stage of the Tour de France is a fantastic experience, but is a logistical headache. The Maratona offers a choice of short, medium and long routes with each finishing in Corvara, a couple of kms from the start. Practically, it is a simple prospect. The organisation is efficient, with plenty of time for the 9,000 participants to register and receive their race pack. Generous sponsorship provides some top notch swag; in addition to the usual samples and vouchers, we each received a cycling jersey and fleece gilet of a surprisingly good quality. Made by Castelli but with slightly relaxed sizing to fit those of us who aren’t racing snakes!
On the day itself I was up for breakfast at 4.30, ready to roll down the short distance from my hotel to the Start. Although the start is at 6.30, entry to the starting pens opens at 5.30 and I was advised to get there early. There was the usual experience of nervous chat in the early dawn light, a mixture of Italian, Dutch, German, English and who knows what being spoken. As a band belted out high-energy rock music and two helicopters buzzed the crowd, the race director counted down to the start. Being back in the general pen, we didn’t actually start moving for another 15-20 minutes, but the race was on and we were raring to go.
The race starts with a gentle but steady climb through Corvara (where the race finishes) and up to the Passo Campolongo. The riders were packed in quite closely at this point and some care was needed to hold a line as we crested the pass and made our first descent. All too soon we were back to climbing, this time a long steady pull up to Passo Pordoi. As the pace steadied I managed to glance back down at thousands of riders winding their way through the lush green pastures. After a little over 9km at 7% we reached the pass in about 55 minutes. A brief touch of the cap as we passed the monument to Italian racing legend Fausto Coppi, a cheer to the trio playing alpenhorns, then it was a plunge into the first really fast descent of the day.
Gradually a pattern became established. The climbs were largely silent, allowing us to hear the tinkling bells of the cows in their pastures. Then cheers and shouts of encouragement at the summit punctuated the change from silence to the shriek of free hubs and disc brakes.
There are three routes to choose from, and because of the figure 8 course you don’t have to decide until you reach a junction. Each route presents a challenge, a fulfilling ride around the amazing scenery. A friend who rode the short course (55km, 1,780m climbing) did not feel short-changed. The medium route is 106km and 3,130m. The results show that riders split more or less equally over the 3 routes.
The medium and long routes head back up the Passo Campolongo. Pausing at the top for some food I could see that the weather was changing; the temperature was dropping and the early mist had resolved into rain clouds. A heavy squall broke just as I began the longest descent of the day, and soon there seemed to be water everywhere. It became a bit ‘type 2 fun’ for half an hour or so. Eventually the rain eased and we began the longest climb on the long route – 9.9km at an average 9.3% up to Passo Giau. I counted off each 100m on my Wahoo. Cadence steady, breathing steady; no chat, just keeping the pedals turning. Another 100m, another sip of energy drink, that’s the measure of the climb. Winding up the hairpin bends, through a forest and back up into the clouds, the spectacular views we had enjoyed earlier in the day now obscured. Another fast descent, another long climb, another fast descent; this course was testing my legs and my concentration. I was relieved to see the sign for the last 10km, but the course had one last twist – a short, sharp kick up the Muur di Giat (max gradient 19%!) then a steady last few km to the finish. A substantial finishers’ meal – pasta starter, sausage and chips main and apple strudel for dessert – was.washed down with a very welcome beer.
It was a tough but immensely rewarding ride. I can’t wait to plan another trip to Corvara and to ride the Maratona again.
