"It hurts a little," says Michael Schaake, thinking about the fact that the Rolling Stones are probably doing their sound check in the Schalke Arena right now, very close to his home. But while Mick Jagger is swinging his hips, Michael is spinning his legs and playing the "Street Fighting Man" on South Tyrol's tarmac - at the Giro delle Dolomiti.
He is now 67 years old and openly flaunts his love for the Rolling Stones: His jersey and mobile phone cover bear the trademark of the old rockers - and he even has a tattoo of the red tongue sticking out on his calf. Despite all this, he decided against the Stones in the last week of July. Or rather: for a week of road cycling "in an awesome area". By which he means the Dolomites.
In the Dolomites, which Reinhold Messner describes as the most beautiful mountains in the world, a tour took place for the 45th time this year. Its concept is loved by the participants because it is different from what is known in the amateur scene. Participants ride six stages on closed roads in a closed group. Only a two-kilometre sprint classification and a mountain classification, usually more than ten kilometres long, separate the wheat from the chaff each day. After these time trials, the peloton continues as a group and gathers in mostly idyllic locations for refreshments or an extended lunch. Bettina Ravanelli, the president of the Giro delle Dolomiti, describes it like this: "We have always wanted to be different from the classic granfondo, which are a dime a dozen in Italy."
Giro delle Dolomiti - time to enjoy
This is exactly what attracts racing cyclists like Michael Schaake. He used to ride a lot of mountain bikes, for example the BIKE Transalp seven times. Later, he switched to racing bikes and was part of the TOUR-Transalp with me. "But here I enjoy the fact that you're not racing all the time," he says of the Giro. Always just "speeding through" means that he often has no view of the landscape and doesn't know where he's actually riding: "But it's completely different here."
The entourage usually meets at the start in the rather functional ambience of the exhibition centre in Bolzano. Afterwards, however, the participants of the Giro delle Dolomiti can look forward to a top-class scenic spectacle. There are easily 20 passes to climb from here - and even if, like this year, the route only really leads into the Dolomites on stage three towards the Würzjoch, it offers the finest views. For example from Bolzano's local mountain, the Ritten, or from Monte Bondone towards Lake Garda. This time, the Giro moved the start and finish of the two final stages from Bolzano to Trento. Also to bring some variety to the route, as President Ravanelli says. "Going in the direction of Cortina would be a dream," she says of new ideas, even though she knows that realising them would involve a great deal of logistical and financial effort.
They cannot rest on the laurels of the past 45 years - the organisers are well aware of this. Unlike many others, the event was only cancelled in the first year of coronavirus. But last year and this year, as in many places, there were significantly fewer participants at the start: a good 350 compared to more than 600 in the past.
Small and big successes
After all, we managed to attract a few new ones in 2021. Julia Jedelhauser, for example. "I signed up last year because all the other events were cancelled," she says looking back. In the end, she stood at the top of the podium in the women's classification - in her first ever road bike race. She used to race mountain bikes and take part in mountain running competitions. But as the previous year's winner, she was given a free place and was back at the start this time. She "only" scored in the sprint classifications and had to give up first place in the overall standings. But she was still satisfied: "When you see who is ahead of me, it still feels like a victory."
Ahead of her is Janine Meyer, one of the well-known figures on the marathon scene. The rider from Cologne has gone from success to success and has already won both the women's team and individual classification at the TOUR-Transalp. She is taking part in the Giro delle Dolomiti for the fifth time, having last competed five years ago. This time she signed up at short notice: "I was corona positive at the end of June, which threw my entire season planning out of kilter." And even though she is in competition with Julia, they are united by the Giro format. They both enjoy meeting up with like-minded people in a relaxed atmosphere, talking a lot - and then really pushing themselves to the limit in the classifications.
A feeling that Claudia Rier was also able to enjoy again after around four months. She is a South Tyrolean local hero and spends almost every free minute on her racing bike in summer. And on skis in winter. And it was precisely this that proved to be her undoing in spring. She was already in full racing bike training when she tore her cruciate, medial ligament and meniscus on her very last ski tour of last winter. At the Giro delle Dolomiti, she ventured back into the mountains for the first time - accompanied and monitored by her physiotherapist Julian Pioner - but only signed up for two one-day stages. She rode unusually slowly, but with all the more feelings of happiness: "It's incredibly nice to be back on the road bike," she said after the mountain classifications on the Würzjoch and in Durnholz - and rewarded herself with South Tyrolean specialities from the refreshment station at the idyllic lake.
Special Christmas present
Doris Mertens and Jürgen Mustermann from Cologne also enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere there. Doris is an experienced marathon cyclist, has already conquered the Ötztaler four times and was a member of the TOUR-Jedermann team in 2012. Jürgen, on the other hand, enjoys touring and trains regularly with his wife, "because otherwise we would hardly ever see each other", he says with a wink. The fact that he is now celebrating his racing debut at the Giro delle Dolomiti is down to last Christmas: "I just gave it to him as a present," says Doris. They both cycle for FC St. Pauli because they feel very comfortable there. Because the people there are relaxed. And so refreshingly different - just like football. "People always ask us about football, but we never know the results," they say with a laugh. But at least they wear extremely cool jerseys, just like the footballers.
Only Stones fan Michael Schaake is cooler in the field of drivers. "At my age," he says, "you don't plan too far in advance. But if my health cooperates and I'm in good enough shape not to ride in front of the broom wagon," he can well imagine riding in the Giro delle Dolomiti for the fourth time next year. In Mick Jagger's words, it would probably sound like this: "I can't get no satisfaction."
Giro delle Dolomiti
Info
This year's stage race for amateur cyclists took place over six stages (Wednesday rest day). You can take part in all six stages or in up to four individual stages. The daily stages were between 80 and 175 kilometres long. The timekeeping for the classification takes place on fixed sections, mostly climbs of around 10 kilometres and between 500 and 1000 metres in altitude. The first four stages began and ended in Bolzano, the last two in Trento. The final stage in Trento was a time trial for individual starters or teams of up to five riders. The entire event cost 450 euros (including race catering), individual stages 90 euros.
