Maratona dles Dolomites Sportive 2017

Every year the Maratona gran fondo (that's the Italian for sportive!) gets bigger. In 2016 there were more than 33,000 cyclists chasing just 9,000 places. In 2017 the theme of the Maratona is 'Amur' (that's love for you non Italian speakers), which is reflected in the logo.

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 2017 Maratona opens on 13 October 2016 and closes on 3 November 2016 and there is a pre-registration fee of two euros. 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 1 December. Entry will cost 112 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.  193 places will go on sale on 23 November 2016 from 5 pm (UK time) and a further 193 charity registrations will be available on 23rd March 2017 from 5 pm (UK time).