For years, the Maratona dles Dolomites has been one of the most popular road cycling events in Europe. Since last year, the Maratona organisers have been offering a real test for fans of long and high-altitude routes: the Supermaratona offers an impressive 8400 metres of altitude difference spread over 286 kilometres. It follows in the historical footsteps of the Dolomites Marathon. The new "Supermaratona" challenge takes up the history and offers all 13 passes that have ever been ridden in the history of the cycling marathon. We have 2024 over the Project and gave Thilo Schnelle and his three cycling mates the idea of attempting the ride. At the beginning of June, the time had come: the four boys tackled the 8400 metres of altitude. As soon as they were back home, they sent us an e-mail. Here is Thilo's report from the ride.
Reader report Supermaratona
"Are you the crazy ones?" - with these warm words, our host Igor Tavella (ex-cyclocrosser, ex-mountain biker) greeted us at our accommodation Ustaria Posta in Abtai Badia. We had arrived in the Dolomites, which have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009 due to their scenic beauty and uniqueness. It's a wonderful place to enjoy the sweetness of doing nothing while contemplating the fairytale landscapes and listening to the sounds of nature.
But you can also leave it at that and dedicate yourself to the Supermaratona: an epic journey on two wheels that combines sport, history and landscape - designed for anyone who wants to experience the mountains in an authentic way, far removed from any rankings. Over 285 km. 8500 metres in altitude. 13 legendary passes. The Supermaratona celebrates the most iconic climbs of the famous Maratona dles Dolomites. But only on one route and in one day. A challenge that goes beyond performance: a tribute to the culture, the effort and the beauty of the Dolomites.
Start to the Supermaratona at 5.30 am
The Supermaratona starts directly in front of the Ustaria Posta, our hotel - the place where the Maratona dles Dolomites was born and where the starting line of the first editions was located.
The Passo Gardena, our first pass of the day, was more of a warm-up programme with 9.3 km and an average gradient of 6.5 percent. Which was necessary with a temperature of 4 degrees in short/long. Choosing the right clothing was once again tricky according to rule #21 [If you're not freezing at the start, you're dressed too warmly] with the forecast high temperatures of 26 degrees.
After a short descent, we headed into the Passo Sella, which at just 5.5 km and 6.8 per cent is more of a counter-wave category and therefore not really worth mentioning. But the breathtaking landscape with the view of the Sassolungo and flanked by the mighty Sella massif past the Cittá dei Sassi, the stone city, made the climb something special.
Passo Fedaia: key section of the Supermaratona
Next on the programme was the Passo Fedaia. At 9 km and 6.2 per cent, this is one of the key points of the Supermaratona. The pass leads to Lake Fedaia, a real highlight surrounded by spectacular nature at the foot of the Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites.
As we all know, there are different types of riders in cycling. There are climbers, sprinters, puncheurs, rouleurs and so on. I am a so-called negative all-rounder. So I can do everything and not really well. As eating is still the eroticism of everyday life for me, I can't climb properly and I'm not particularly good at descending either, because I'm simply far too scared in open traffic.
Between Alleghe and Agordo, the only flat part of the day, it's better to ride with a partner when there's a headwind, so my plan was to pull out enough of a gap on Martin on the climb, knowing that I'd lose it again on the following descent. With a top speed of 103.4 km/h from my pursuer, the plan worked out perfectly. In Argordo, I then turned left onto the Passo Duran, category 1, 12.3 kilometres and 8.1 per cent steep on average, but beautiful, as the pass is apparently uninteresting for traffic.
Drinking fountain instead of team car
This was followed by the Forcella Staulanza. A pass 12.5 kilometres long and with an average gradient of a supposedly relaxed 6.6 per cent. (Cat. 2).... For arse! Mathematically that may be correct, but the many short flat sections in between make the thing much steeper in the end. It was really nasty, unrhythmic and the thermometer had now passed the 20 degree mark. Drinking a lot was the order of the day. But we had a team vehicle with us in the form of drinking fountains, the locations of which Martin had professionally prepared for the event by sticking them on the front of the bike as a road map.
On the Wednesday before we travelled, I quickly bought an 11/34 lifebuoy cassette. Better safe than sorry. And because I had also posted this as a STRAVA junkie, a dear friend of mine commented: "What's next? Compact? Simple? The new Schwalbe valve".
So I listened to the supposed expert and changed the cassette again, in the belief that I could survive in the Alps with the professional 54/40-11/30 gearing. After the Passo Giau at the latest, with 9.9 km and 9.3 per cent on average, I'll reconsider the friendship thing.
Supermaratona with Passo di Giau
29 tonare, or 29 bends, were written on the sign at the foot of the climb. And every bend is signposted. I hate it. With the percentages, it kills you mentally. At some point you just close your eyes in the bend and decide not to take a look at the next number for another 10 minutes, which is even more demotivating in the end because you realise that you're only three bends further on. To make matters worse, after the last one you continue straight on for almost a kilometre before reaching the highest point. But for us cyclists, not buckling at this point and instead increasing the pressure on the pedals to simply pick up the pace a little more means "feeling great". That's our raison d'être, our agony - our badge of honour - our sin. For me, the climb was the absolute nemesis. Hors categorie.
At the summit, despite all my suffering, I had caught up with Jens and Mathis again, who had already pulled away on the first climb, the Passo Gardena, but had to make an involuntary pit stop in the meantime to buy some sun cream. I, on the other hand, was still on a two-stop strategy.
Crash on the descent
So we set off together on the descent to Cortina d'Ampezzo, where my rear wheel suddenly slipped off in a hairpin bend on a greasy surface. I managed to avoid a fall by skilfully steering out of the way and fortunately only ended up on the verge. Just as I was putting the chain that had come off during the manoeuvre back on, I saw Mathis, who was following me, slip off at the same spot and land in the crash barrier. Fortunately, nothing worse happened here either. He was also able to steer reasonably well. You can live with a broken handlebar tape, a few scratches on the fork and some lost skin on your knee. That was close.
From Cortina, we crossed the Passo Tre Croci, which is not as steep at 7.3 per cent and not as long at just 7.9 km, towards Lago di Misurina, from where we had an iconic view of the south-west faces of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in continued bright sunshine. Langnese Dolomiti sends its regards.
"It's not getting any easier here," was Jens' response during a short pit stop to my statement that, back in Cortina, it would get easier from now on. Yes, it did, at least in relative terms. The Passo Valparola may be long at 17.4 kilometres, but at 5.7 per cent it is moderate and, above all, even.
The rules of the Supermatatona state that the route must follow exactly the Gpx track provided on the website. And here was the problem. We had already checked the passability of the passes in advance and knew that the descent to San Cassiano was closed due to construction work. "In Italy, they don't work that long on Fridays anyway, so when you're there, you can gravel through the 2 km," was Igor's comment the evening before. Today, however, the construction workers were apparently working overtime and were not amused when they saw us. But we got through somehow, albeit in a rather adventurous way.
To make sure we didn't get bored, the race organisers added the Mür dl Giat, the cat wall, to the 13 passes in La Villa. A short, but at 19 per cent steep ramp that was challenging, but couldn't really shock us after Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
There's no question that cycling is a difficult sport. Not difficult in the sense that your opponent chasing you is just about to straddle you from behind because you've just loaded him with an elegant trick and are now storming towards the opponent's goal alone with the ball, like in football. Not difficult in the sense that you have to fight against drowning like in swimming. Not difficult in the sense that you have to hit a hole that is far too small with a ball that is far too small, as in golf. Cycling is hard because our rides are measured in hours and hundreds of kilometres and metres of altitude. This sport is difficult in the sense that the biggest obstacle is not the bike or the route profile, but our mind.
Mental test on the Supermaratona
As we had already passed our destination of Corvara, we had to resist the temptation to break off at this point and relax with a bottle of Lagrein and enjoy the specialities of Ladin cuisine. This combines Italian, Austrian and German flavours for a unique taste experience. Dumplings are certainly the most famous dish. Dumplings are available here in all variations: with spinach, cheese, bacon or beetroot, in pressed form, as a soup garnish or simply with browned butter. Simply delicious!
However, we were still missing the quartet of the orange Sella Ronda known to skiers, i.e. the clockwise route. To avoid any problems with the light conditions, we had calculated in advance that we would have to reach Corvara for the remaining 60 kilometres by 6 p.m. at the latest. Anything else would be pretty dark. It worked out!
The 5.8 km long and moderate 6.1 per cent Passo Campolongo led us on to the Pordoi Pass and through the idyllic mountain village of Arabba, where the Spar was being renovated and was unfortunately closed. So from now on we had to make do with what was left in our bottles.
Our respect for the Passo Pordoi, the 9.2-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 6.9 per cent, turned out to be unfounded. The 33 hairpin bends with the breathtaking view of the plateau-shaped Sella massif as the sun slowly set were surprisingly even and relatively easy to ride despite our state of exhaustion.
Once we reached the summit, we knew that no one would be able to stop us from here. The Passo Sella, which is relatively short at 5.5 kilometres, but at 7.9 per cent a tough climb, demanded everything from us once again. Totally unrhythmic and the last big challenge.
Photo stop at the Supermaratona
Incidentally, if you are completely grey, you are allowed to stop and take a breather on a climb. The smart thing to do is to pull out your mobile phone and pretend you're just taking nice photos. However, under no circumstances are you allowed to push, unless you are a professional cyclist and ride up the 27 per cent steep Agathaberg at Rund um Köln and suddenly come to a halt in a traffic jam.
Our challenge was gradually coming to an end with the final crossing of the Gardena Pass. We once again experienced the spectacular landscape around the Sassolungo, this time at sunset. The Passo Gardena, 5.8 kilometres long and with an average gradient of 4.3 per cent, was no longer a real challenge. After all the legendary climbs, we could already feel the proximity to the finish at the summit - with a fantastic view of the valley of Alta Badia.
The Supermaratona ends in Corvara - on the same finishing straight as the Maratona dles Dolomites. The majestic Sassongher greeted us on the horizon as we crossed the finish line cheering after just over 14 hours in the saddle - the symbol of an extraordinary adventure over the iconic mountains of the Dolomites.
We have made it!
According to STRAVA, I consumed 9,103 calories today. The calories consumed through bars, gels, excellent mortadella rolls, iso drinks and several obligatory rescue colas against absolute greyness are estimated to be around 4,000. As the restaurant kitchen was unfortunately already closed, we were unable to make up the deficit with South Tyrolean specialities. However, for a Forst Premium beer with an alcohol content of 4.8 per cent, you can expect around 240 kcal per 0.4 litre. In purely mathematical terms, that makes 21 regeneration beers. In the end, however, I failed the challenge.
Exhausted and proud, we quickly sent our STRAVA activity to the race organisers' email address to be included in the Hall of Fame. Before doing so, I checked the list to see how many other crazy people had already completed the Supermaratona. I was a little surprised to see only two names there: Hervé Barmasse, together with Igor the initiator of the Supermaratona on 2 July 2024 and Marco Loguercio on 11 August 2024. Why can't you scroll further down? Ultimately, at that point in time and in my condition, I didn't really care. I think I speak for everyone: we were just exhausted. But when Igor presented us with the official and numbered Supermaratona cap as a symbol of our achievement in recognition of completing the Supermaratona in one day, all the pain was suddenly forgotten. The caps are numbered 3, 4, 5 and 6!
HintThe reader report reflects the opinion and experience of the author and not the editorial team. As we were not there, we cannot check whether all statements are correct. All opinions expressed are readers' opinions and not those of the TOUR editorial team.
