Maratona dles Dolomites Sportive 2018

CLICK THROUGH FOR INFORMATION ON THE 2019 MARATONA DLES DOLOMITES

ALSO READ PAUL HUNT'S 2018 MARATONA RIDE REPORT

Every year the Maratona Gran Fondo (that's the Italian for sportive!) gets bigger. For the 2017 Maratona there were a record 33,500 cyclists chasing just 9,000 places.

The intense competition for places is a reflection of the legendary nature of this ride, which is up there with the Marmotte in terms of toughness and as a test of the amateur rider's physical and mental strength.

Billed as a race on (mostly) closed roads, the Maratona starts and finishes in Corvara, best known as a winter ski resort. It is a 138km ride with 4,320 metres of climbing; there are two shorter routes but most people who make the trip all the way out to Italy want to ride the full route. The winner usually finishes in a little under 5 hours but plenty of riders take at least double that.

The Maratona route takes in seven major climbs:

Passo Campolongo (length: 5.8km, average gradient: 6.1%)
Passo Pordoi (length: 9.2km, average gradient: 6.9%)
Passo Sella (length: 5.5km, average gradient: 7.9%)
Passo Gardena (length: 5.8km, average gradient: 4.3%)
Passo Giau (length: 9.9km, average gradient: 9.3%)
Passo Valparola (length: 11.8km, average gradient: 6.7%)
Mür dl giat (the cat wall) (length: 300m, average gradient: 13.1%)

A Maratona Village is set up around the event in the town of San Leonardo with a fan zone, pasta and music, big screens, a shuttle service to nearby towns and of course concession stands from leading cycling brands including Pinarello, Campagnolo, Mavic and Selle Italia.

To get some idea of how tough the Maratona is, read Joe Saumarez Smith's 2015 Maratona ride report.

How to enter

Entry to the Maratona is by ballot due to the huge demand for places. The registration window for the 2018 Maratona is now open and closes on 8 November 2018. The draw for places will take place in the second half of November with riders informed if they have been lucky enough to get a place from 3 December. There is a Pre-entry of two euros and full entry will cost 125 euros for successful riders. Sign up for the Sportive.com newsletter to receive alerts about when entries open and are about to close.

If you fail to get in through the lottery draw then you can buy a charity place.  388 charity places are available and will be sold in November 2017 and March 2018.