Here we go again, two years later. There Maratona dles Dolomites restarts on Sunday 4 July after the forced break of 2020 marked forever by Covid, and it is an important signal why the most coveted of the Italian Granfondo shows that he wants to get back on the road and into the game. With an enormous effort from an organizational point of view to protect the participants and also with only a partial economic return for the areas that host it.
A return to reduced ranks
They will in fact only be 6mila amateur cyclists at the start of this year, compared to over 9 thousand in the previous editions: a sacrifice necessary to ensure the necessary safety conditions imposed by the current situation, which will not, however, prevent them from seeing aligned at the start athletes of 57 nationalities different as evidence of the international importance that has always surrounded the event.
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Three routes, a single incomparable scenario
The usual panorama will surround those who ride: the unique scenery of the Dolomites, a World Heritage Site that, at least he, has not suffered the contagion of the pandemic. Campolongo, Pordoi, Saddle, Gardena, rich, Falzarego e Valparola, all strictly closed to traffic as usual, will be the steps to climb in a continuous challenge with others, but above all with oneself along the three routes: Sella Ronda, with its 55 kilometers in length and 1,780 meters in altitude; the Middle from 106 km and 3130 meters; the real Marathon, 138 km long and with 4,230 meters to overcome.
The big names in sport at the start …
The start, or rather the re-start, is set for 6.30 from La Villa, while the finish line will await the runners in dribs and drabs in Corvara in Val Badia. Along the way, sports personalities of yesterday and today like Davide will be protagonists Cassani, Paolo Bettini, Alessandro Ballan, Federico Pellegrino, Kristian Ghedina, Manfred Possibility, Fabrizio Radishes, Cristian Zorzi and, for the first time, also the mountaineer Hervé barmasse, the skipper of Luna Rossa Francesco Bruni and ex-biker Marco Melandri.
… and the challenge between the VIPs of finance
Nourished, as usual, also the patrol of VIPs of finance “loaned” to the pedal, led by the minister for technological innovation and digital transition, Vittorio Colao. To challenge him, among others, Francesco Starace (Enel), Rodolfo From Benedetti (Cir), Mario Greco (Zurich) and Alberto Sorbini (Enervit). The show will be immortalized by Rai2 cameras, which will follow the event live from 6.15 am. The hope is that everything will end with a party: “A party that has been waiting for too long”, as Claudio Canins, Director General of the Maratona dles Dolomites, recalls.