Maratona dles Dolomites, 8000 cyclists seek enlightenment on the Alpine passes

Lüm. And let there be light on the 38th Maratona dles Dolomites. The most beloved (and most feared) Granfondo in Italy once again raises the curtain on the incomparable scenery of the peaks and passes of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And this year too, over 8,000 cycling enthusiasts will be challenging each other along the hairpin bends, climbs and equally challenging descents, more than half of whom are new to the now classic and sought-after early summer event.

Everyone is looking for light - Lüm, the theme of the 2026 edition - as an element capable of transforming every effort into energy and every emotion into memory. And also from a meteorological point of view, given the uncertain forecasts after the long heat wave that hit Italy and the whole of Europe, including the mountains. Half of the enthusiasts will arrive as usual from beyond the border, from 81 different countries, confirming the cosmopolitan nature of the event and its ability to attract attention from every latitude.

Awaiting them are the now three classic routes, often a difficult choice for aspiring "marathon runners": the Sella Ronda, with its 55 kilometers in length and 1,780 meters of altitude difference (don't call it "short", for goodness' sake!), the Medio of 106 km and 3,130 meters and finally the actual Maratona, 138 km long and with 4,230 meters to overcome. Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Giau, Falzarego and Valparola are instead the famous passes to climb, all of them rigorously closed to the annoying traffic of cars and motorcycles.

Many will have the opportunity to approach and perhaps even surpass many cycling champions of the past, more or less recent. If Peter Sagan, starting for the first time from Badia on Sunday 6 July at 6:30, wins the title of "super guest", ex-professionals of the calibre of Miguel Indurain, Vincenzo Nibali, Paolo Bettini, Gianni Bugno, Filippo Pozzato, Daniel Oss, Fabio Aru and Alan Marangoni are certainly no exception. Just as there will be no shortage of exceptional athletes "lent" from other disciplines such as Fabio Cannavaro, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Mattia Casse, Manfred Mölgg, Hervé Barmasse and Cristian Zorzi.

Equally ritual is the meeting-clash between the big names in Italian finance, which this year will see a group of entrepreneurs challenge each other, not so much on profits as on pedals, ideally led by Matteo Del Fante (CEO of Poste Italiane), Nicola Lanzetta (Enel), Rodolfo De Benedetti (Cir), Matteo Arcese (Arcese Trasporti) and Pierluigi Alessandri (Technogym). For one day, everyone is on the hunt for a feat... of sport.