Considering that cycling is Italy’s national sport and that the Dolomites are the most stunningly beautiful mountains in the world (sorry, Colorado Rockies), signing up for the Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel race is not a hard sell. So, when I was invited to represent the United States as a journalist, I accepted exuberantly.
The race was founded in 1987 by local cyclists in the South Tyrolean region of Alta Badia, who were challenging each other’s speed while exploring the region’s dizzying mountain passes. Since then, the event has grown to a major affair that’s televised live throughout Italy, closing all roads in the region for six straight hours.
The race’s longest course measures 138 kilometers (86 miles) with 4,230 meters of elevation gain (that’s more than 13,000 feet of climbing). The middle course measures 106 km (66 miles) while the Sella Ronda “classic” route measures 55 km (34 miles) with nearly 6,000 feet of climbing. About 40,000 people try to sign up, but the race is only open to 8,000 participants—50 percent Italian and 50 percent from other nations (91 in total), all granted entry via a lottery.
Colorado Cyclists Turn Out for the Race
It’s no surprise that this spectacular event, iconic among Europeans, is on the radar of many two wheel-enthusiasts in Colorado.
Boulder cyclists especially have factored notably in the event for many years. Boulder native and Olympian Taylor Phinney competed as a teenager (naturally, he finished the 138-kilometer course in seventh place). Of the 24 U.S. women in this year’s Maratona in July, six of us were from Colorado. There were 118 U.S. men competing, 10 from Colorado. Eight of the 16 Coloradans competing hailed from Boulder, specifically, with a handful of others from Longmont, Golden and Lafayette.
Boulder’s Emily Caldwell finished 14th with a time of 6 hours, 6 minutes and 49 seconds.
“What an experience,” Caldwell said after the race. “It turns out the riding around Boulder makes for perfect training since you can string together many climbs like Sunshine and Magnolia.”
Caldwell participated with her husband John “Austin” Caldwell, who finished in 5:39.33, an impressive 216th place of more than 3,000 men racing the long course. The two felt compelled to participate after inadvertently witnessing the race a few years ago when they were visiting Alta Badia.
Boulder’s Joanne Ernst, who won the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona in 1985, finished the full course in 7:37.15, notching 4th place in the 60-69 women’s age group.
I was one of two American journalists invited to participate in the race. Truly more of a mountain biker whose (long ago) race experience mostly consisted of local singletrack competitions in Summit and Eagle counties, I opted for the shortest Maratona course. Still, pedaling over four mountain passes (Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena) and climbing nearly 6,000 feet is no small feat. I did a couple skinny tire training rides from down valley in Eagle County back home to Breckenridge and an out-and-back to Vail from Frisco, but these barely touched 4,000 feet of climbing. Luckily, living at high elevation worked in my favor by the time race day rolled around.
What It’s Like to Participate in the Iconic Race
The sun cast a pink light on the upper half of the nearest Dolomites on the morning of race day in early July. A pair of low-flying helicopters buzzed overhead, drowning out the surrounding conversations in Italian, German, French and Ladin, which is the primary language of this region. A giant hot air balloon floated slowly above the neighboring meadow.
I was surrounded by thousands of lean, Lycra-clad cyclists, most of whom looked fit for the Giro d’Italia (and, as it turns out, there were plenty of pro riders in the field). Sitting astride a borrowed, brand new, top-of-the-line Pinarello road bike, I soaked up the atmosphere. I was feeling thrilled and admittedly a bit nervous, determined to take hold of the right line of the road and stick to it for the duration, giving the thousands of athletes starting behind me plenty of space to fly by.
When the gun fired, it took a full minute for the wave around me to ease forward, the patter of plastic-soled shoes clicking into pedals resounding on all sides. From that moment on, even over the toughest, grinding pitches in granny gear, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
The energy was incredible. As a peloton, we swept from the outskirts of La Villa through the village of Corvara, passing by sidewalks crowded with cheering spectators. Slower riders like me stuck to the right as faster riders whizzed by yelling, “Allez! Allez! Allez!” We reached the first pass, Campolongo, in minutes, its switchbacks winding upward amid vibrant green grass. The train of colorful cyclists stretched as far as the eye could see, both above and below.
Up and Down Thrill Ride
Given the super-steep profile of the race, there was literally no time to recover from one pass to the next. The descents felt death-defying. I’d never traveled so fast on a bike, especially on skinny tires. I guessed I reached speeds around 45 miles per hour. Still, other cyclists shot past like I was barely moving.
Most riders, including me, blew past the first aid station in the village of Arraba. I was buoyed enough by the cheers of the next crowd lining the course, including a bobbing quartet of musicians playing oompah tunes. Then it was time to abruptly gear down for the second major climb, which came immediately after the first descent. Reaching the next summit of Pordoi Pass involved pedaling up seemingly endless, wide-open switchbacks, the valley to the right featuring a gondola running from the base of the valley to the top of the pass—a glaring reminder that we were, in fact, climbing up a steep mountain.
Again, the descent was thrilling, but terrifying. The next transition to uphill was so sudden that the clank of stuck chains rang one after another, and several cyclists stopped to replace the dangling metal onto their rings. I stopped at the aid station halfway up the third climb, summiting at Passo Sella. Here, the family running the on-mountain chalet handed out squares of freshly baked strudl and a Lavazza booth passed out steaming shots of espresso while another oompah band provided a jaunty soundtrack.
My last descent and climb up Passo Gardena was the most visually striking, the route lined on both sides by walls of rocky ridgelines that swooped into the green meadows below like gigantic tidal waves. I stopped at the final summit to take it all.
My partner, meanwhile, was traveling via a gondola from our hotel’s village, followed by a hike across the high terrain to another gondola leading down to the finish.
A crowd about five deep lined the course leading to the finish line, its cheers harmonizing with the lively, multi-lingual announcements from the man on the loud speaker. I truly felt like I was pedaling through the finish of the Giro d’Italia. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Maybe even the longer course.
The 2026 Maratona Dles Dolomites – Enel is scheduled for July 5. Registration opens in mid-October, with participants selected by lottery. As registration time nears, more information will be available online.
