Wednesday, 13 July 2011

Lovely Day in the Dolomites

stats of the week: run 16km, cycled 288km
Maratona dles Dolomites: 138km, 4100 vertical meters, 7:51 hrs

It might sound amazing but a tough event can be lovely. The Maratona dles Dolomites is Italia's most popular cycling event, welcoming 9,000 participants. Organisation lovely, volunteers lovely, landscape lovely, race tough.

After the introductory "Kindergarden" lap around the Sella hills I was so exhausted that I doubted to make it to the finish without walking. Giau Pass is a real challenge, however in the upper part I felt stronger and finally I reached my target to finish sub 8 hours and qualify for 3rd pen next year. Alas - my speed was slower than last year. I was just faster because of less and shorter breaks at the food stations.


Now I look forward to doing the next ride. Target is merely to enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Massif Central and the L'etape du Tour Act 2 from Issoire to St. Flour. The professionals did it last Sunday and warned us by numerous accidents ... The distance is 210km and the finish closes after 12 hours. It's going to be a long day. Lovely.

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