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Maratona dles Dolomites

One day a year in the normally sleepy Ladin valleys of Italy’s far north, a gunshot sends more than 9,000 riders climbing out of the darkness, just before dawn breaks over the surrounding limestone peaks. Throughout the huge peloton, the atmosphere is electric. At the front, the pace is almost frightening. Bands line the roadside. At some turns the fans are five or six deep behind the hoardings. It’s almost impossible to get an entry—more than 30,000 apply for the lottery—and in the excitement of it all during those first few kilometers, it’s all too easy to forget just what the hell you’ve signed yourself up for. This is the Maratona dles Dolomites, the queen of all gran fondos. It’s grueling, beautiful, fun, overwhelming, unforgettable. It’s breathtaking, both figuratively and literally. And for an amateur rider, there’s simply nothing else like it. In fact, the scale of it is probably enough to shock a lot of lower-level pros. There are three courses, none of them exactly easy. The shortest looks benign enough at first glance, just 55 kilometers. It still manages to pack in almost 1,800 meters of climbing. The medium route takes 106 kilometers, with 3,090 meters of elevation. ...

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