Maratona dles Dolomites 2015

The Maratona dles Dolomites is a beautiful gran fondo on a testing course in the Italian Dolomites mountain range.

The full 138km Maratona course takes riders over five 2,000m+ passes and the saw tooth profile means you are either ascending or descending throughout the day.

The readers of Cycling Weekly rated the Maratona dles Dolomites 3rd favorite international sportive behind the Etape du Tour and La Marmotte.

Looming large on the course profile are the Passo Giau (2,236m over 9.9km at 9.3%) and Passo Valparola (2,200m over 11.5km at 5.8%); make no mistake this is right up there with La Marmotte and Nove Colli for difficulty.

For many cyclists the Maratona is a 'must do' and it's proximity to Venice and the Adriatic coast means a Maratona dles Dolomites holiday can be combined with some sightseeing too.

There are three sportive distances to choose from including the full Gran Fondo "Maratona" length course. All of the routes start at La Villa and finish at Corvara, so you will not miss any of the pre or post race atmosphere if you choose to take on one of the shorter distances. As you can imagine cycling in the Dolomites involves plenty of climbing and the saw tooth profiles are testament to how challenging this gran fondo is!

• Maratona: 138km with 4,190m of climbing
• Middle: 106km with 3,090m of climbing
• Sellaronda: 55km with 1,780m of climbing

The full maratona distance includes five 2,000m+ passes or "Passo" in Italian:

• Passo Pordoi (2,239m) 9.2km at 6.9%
• Passo Sella (2, 239m) 5.5km at 7.9%
• Passo Gardena (2,121m) 5.8km at 4.3%
• Passo Giau (2,236m) 9.9km at 9.3%
• Passo Valparola (2,200m) 11.5km at 5.8%