Maratona dles Dolomites 2012

Barbarossa

140km, 4500m of climb, 9000 starters - awsome!

The details for the 2012 event go up today http://www.maratona.it/

Holomites packages go on sale on the 12th Oct. http://www.holimites.com/maratona.php - last year they sold out in 4 hours!

twotyred

Thinking of doing this next year. What are the chances of getting entry through pre-registration? Is it first come first served?

Barbarossa

The pre-registration puts your name into a draw for places. I believe that it is qute over-subscribed (I've seen figures of 4:1 but I'm not sure). I got a Holomites package last year - it was about €350 for entry + 4 nights accomodation.

phreak

Cycling Plus offer places as well I believe. I'd thoroughly recommend the ride, it's a fantastic experience.

josame

Obvs question from a MdD virgin...

How difficult is it??

I recently did 142 miles in a day and it felt ok (it was ripply rather than peaks!)

phreak

It's doable but you shouldn't underestimate it. Get used to climbing for 40-60minutes at a time. It just requires a bit of planning as you are seldom on the flat, you're either going up or down nearly the whole way, so you need to think about things like when you'll eat. Eating whilst climbing is tough, whilst going down a mountain is only for the brave.

First time I did it I did some riding in Italy in the week leading up to it and it's a good way of acclimatising to the type of riding you'll be doing.

josame

phreak wrote:

It's doable but you shouldn't underestimate it. Get used to climbing for 40-60minutes at a time. It just requires a bit of planning as you are seldom on the flat, you're either going up or down nearly the whole way, so you need to think about things like when you'll eat. Eating whilst climbing is tough, whilst going down a mountain is only for the brave.

First time I did it I did some riding in Italy in the week leading up to it and it's a good way of acclimatising to the type of riding you'll be doing.

Cheers

maddog 2

If you pre-enter as a group then your chances improve. I put in my entry last year for about 10 of us and we got in okay. I suspect being foreign helps too.

The ride itself is pretty tough. Not quite a Marmotte but harder than the FWC IMO.

The Passo Giau is the real tough one. Save your Smart gels for that

maddog 2

we just booked a chalet in Corvara, and drove in by hire car from Venice.

Lookyhere

Its a fantastic event, best thing you can do on a bike, its more of a bike race than a UK Sportif and you can end up heavier than you started thanks to the great and numerous foodstops.
just signed up again via CW, slightly more expensive than the lottery but garanteed place, i want to get under the 6hr mark.
Just be aware of the full route time limits and that the Giau and the climb that follows it are very hard.
We always drive down, 0600 ferry to Dunkirk and a 12hr drive to our appt, i hate flying but like driving

phreak

Something else to consider with the Giau is the heat. Chances are you'll be getting to it around about midday.

I did the GF Giordana this year and both the Gavia and Mortirolo had drinks available half way up.

Unless it changed last year, the Giau doesn't offer this, so you will need to make sure you have plenty of drink for the climb. You'll probably be going for an hour and at speeds that won't wick the sweat away very easily.

Great fun though, and they have video footage of you when you get to the top

alanp23

Barbarossa wrote:

The pre-registration puts your name into a draw for places. I believe that it is qute over-subscribed (I've seen figures of 4:1 but I'm not sure). I got a Holomites package last year - it was about €350 for entry + 4 nights accomodation.

I am planning to do it next year. Currently just in a team of 1. I was going to go for the Holomites package, and am a little dismayed to hear I have a 4 hour window to get booked in.

What time of day does the window open?

Lookyhere

I ve drunk from the couple of road side springs - Gaiu - during the week after and they are fine.

Alanp23 - get this weeks CW and try an get one of the CW places that r probably still available.
appts for about 25 euros/per person a night, in center of la villa (nr the start) there maybe a supplement.
San Cassiano is a grt place to stay though more expensive.

alanp23

Lookyhere wrote:

I ve drunk from the couple of road side springs - Gaiu - during the week after and they are fine.

Alanp23 - get this weeks CW and try an get one of the CW places that r probably still available.
appts for about 25 euros/per person a night, in center of la villa (nr the start) there maybe a supplement.
San Cassiano is a grt place to stay though more expensive.

Thanks.

I had spoken to CW and they had no places left. Maybe cancellations later on...

alanp23

Holomites site crashed within seconds of opening for applications. Seems to be amazingly popular!

bigpikle

On the list for a place - fingers crossed

3Pears

Had a long spell on the computer before finally successfully getting our group in via Holimites

We also got some more of our club members in via CW (they entered really early) so there's a group of 13 of us doing it this in 2012. Two of us have done it before and its an awesome event, 7 days of cycling heaven :P

Refreshingly the Holimites packages are very reasonably in comparison to Etape packages, confirming what a rip of the Etape can be but thats another thread :evil:

alanp23

Yes, I got one as well eventually. Took nearly two hours of effort.

All sorted now. Just need to work out the optimum travel arrangements and work out the training plan. :roll:

robscyclist1981

I'm doing the Maratona with Love Velo (lovevelo.co.uk) and they had sold out. However, i got an email from them today cos i'm on their database i presume that they've been given more entries. no idea how many but if you're struggling to gain entry, they may be able to help you out.

Bordersroadie

I managed to get an entry on the charity places that were available on the Maratona website from 5.00pm yesterday, until about 5.02pm when they were all gone. I'm totally amazed me and my buddy got in, and very, very excited!

I've never done even a Sportive before, so it's kind of a batism of fire. Now I just need to get as fit as I was 20 years ago, in 7 months flat!

Bordersroadie

Six months to go. How's your training going, boys and girls?

Although I live in quite hilly country, nothing replicates the long haul climbs, nevertheless I'm doing routes with decent feet per mile elevations wherever I can.

How do you other guys prepare for Alpine type climbing when you're based in Scotland or England?

phreak

Not doing it this year, but I prepared for Alpine type climbs by doing 60-90 minute steady state sessions on the turbo. Worked pretty well as most of the climbs were ok, the only exception being the really steep and long stuff like the Giau or Mortirolo.

For those you need to think about your gearing and/or ability to ride at a low cadence. If you can grind at a similar power as when you spin for an hour then you'll be fine. If not it'll be worth investing in low enough gears to spin up such climbs at 80+ rpm

Lookyhere

Was going very well, lots of 2 and 3 x 20, long steady rides, was building up to 6hrs.
Now laid low with a chesty type infection that has kept me off the bike for 3 weeks, fustrating but 1st july still a long way off.

bigpikle

week in the mountains of Gran Canaria over Xmas - >300km and >8000m climbing. Even found a nice Giau training climb of 5km at 9.5% av.

lots of base miles now and some good threshold work to come and I should be ready.

3Pears

Where did you stay Bigpikle, I've got 10 days training at the begining of June in prep for the Maratona

My favourite Climb is the one that goes inland from Mogan, beautiful climbs and excellent road surfaces 8)

bigpikle

I stayed in Taurito and rode up that climb from the beach at Pt Mogan every day I agree - its superb. I was up and out at 8am and usually the only rider out there for a couple of hours and a couple of times went right to the top of Pico de Las Nieves for a 45km ride from the beach to 2000m, and then all the way down again If you've been up there before you might remember the horrible gravel road around the lake near the top? The good news is that it has now been properly surfaced so is as good as the rest of the roads on the island.

The hardest climb I've found on the island is off that road. If you follow the GC-200 out of Pt Mogan, up through Mogan, you'll come to a junction with the GC-605 (that heads right into the national park area). If you follow the GC-200 it goes NW over a couple of short but good climbs and then heads to the NW coast area at La Aldea San Nicolas. As you get close to San Nicolas the road drops off the ridge very steeply down into the town - thats the beast of a descent/ascent. There's not much to see there as its a very agricultural working area, so I just turn around and head back, but to get back towards Mogan again you need to get back over that climb. It gets up to 18% in sections and when it drops to 8-9% at times it feels like its flat again... You still have a couple of lovely 2-3km climbs afterwards as well before the road drops back to Mogan and you get that lovely long descent again to the coast!

Have fun - would love to get out there again before the summer, but its purely our winter hiding place for a week every year






By the way - checked out your blog and am rather inspired by the Dreilander-Giro for 2013 already 8)

alanp23

Training started on 2nd January. Three rides in so far and I have a training plan plus rides roughly mapped out for the six months to 1st July. Tapering plan in place as well - the Sunday before, standing around waiting for the Red Hot Chili's to appear in Sunderland

I still need to sort out my exact travelling arrangements but I am booked in close to Orchies on the Monday night on the way home.

But most importantly I am on lesson 9 of my conversational Italian. I am totally drilled on how to ask a young lady if she would like something to drink. (Much to the irritation of my wife :roll: )

alanp23

Just bumping this back up to compete with the Marmotte thread.

I got an email through from them today and that got me visiting the site to comfim my registration was intact. There seems to be a lot from the UK taking part with a serious number on the CW trip.

Anyway, I am all sorted. As mentioned before, I am on my own, making it into a bit of a road trip. Hotels booked on the way out and on the way back, I will be watching the start of the Tour on the Tuesday morning. Really looking forward to the whole week.

Training is going well. I just need to keep doing the miles.

I move into weight loss programme from April 1st. Mainly by stopping eating all those cheap Easter Eggs that the supermarkets keep enticing me with!

Bordersroadie

Training going well here in the Borders, glad I rode all through the winter, it seems to be paying off now.

Gradually increasing the miles, and I have the small matter of the "quite hilly 112 miles" Fred to get past as part of that, on May 13. I reckon if I survive that, then the Maratona will be well within grasp.

Main concerns for me at present are:

1. I've never done a Sportive before so group riding will be new.
2. Descending.
3. The heat, and associated hydration/boiled brain concerns.
4. The bloody hills!!

Bordersroadie

alanp23 wrote:

I got an email through from them today and that got me visiting the site to comfim my registration was intact.

I may be being thick but I can't seem to find the way of doing this on the website.

I can see this bit:
"CONFIRMATION OF AN INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION
4.1 If your pre-entry has been drawn, you can definitely confirm online your entry from December 1st 2011 till April 12th 2012 by using the individual code and the link which will be communicated you by e-mail in December 2011 and by paying the registration fee of 83,00 Euro by credit card, bank transfer or other payment modalities depending on the country."

. . .but I cannot see any other link on the website where I can input the code that I was emailed in November. I was not emailed a link despite it being described above.

My entry is on the rider list as "ok, complete", and my credit card has had €200 taken off it back in November (mine was a charity place) but as I understand it, I still need to confirm my entry. It's a bit confusing!

Any help will be most appreciated!

alanp23

I've booked through Holomites (and paid up at the time). It was exactly the same message that you describe that made me visit the website.

Mine says "ok,complete" as well. I think that email is sent to everyone but is really targetted at the people who picked up a place in the lottery and haven't paid for it yet. You can see that not everyone on the list is marked as complete.

Not sure if that reassures or not.