Alta Badia - 40 years of Maratona: a celebration filled with music
28/October/2026
Forty years have passed since that first ride among friends, an adventure that has grown into an event eagerly awaited by cyclists from all over the world. The Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel is reaching the milestone of its 40th edition and will celebrate it with all those who have helped write its story: participants, organisers, volunteers and the many people along the roads of the Dolomite passes who, year after year, contribute to the unique sense of welcome and community that surrounds the Maratona. Music will accompany this special edition, from the joy of celebration to the more intimate rhythm that each rider finds within themselves while cycling.
“It is incredible to think that forty years have already passed since that first ride among friends and amateur cyclists, the beginning of this incredible adventure that is our Maratona. Thirty-nine Maratonas behind us: what a wonderful thing life is, and how lucky we are to be able to count them all. How lucky we are to be here again. Our Maratona is growing up: yes, ours, and therefore yours too, because the Maratona belongs to everyone who has taken part in it – the organisers, the volunteers, the friends waiting for us along the road, and everyone who has made it possible for a dream, a discovery among friends, to become a global event, followed and eagerly awaited,” says Michil Costa, President of the Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel.
“Since 2000, we have dedicated each Maratona to a theme that could inspire and motivate us. And this year, because there are 40 wheels on the birthday cake, we will celebrate by playing and singing, with the spirit of someone who is 30, 20, perhaps even just 10 years old. Or, why not, with the spirit of someone who knows that even after forty years, it will still feel just like the first time. The quiet sound of fine tyres gliding along a road, first uphill, then downhill, then uphill again. And perhaps stopping for a moment to look into the distance, because the most beautiful music is the music we find within ourselves, setting the pace – whether fast or slow – to the story of our lives on two wheels.”
THE MEANING BEHIND THE LOGO OF THE 40TH EDITION
“Music has always been part of each and every one of us. It is an invisible wave, filled with emotions and meaning. It moves the air, travels through space and reaches us: a vibration that passes through the body and soul, reaches the heart and awakens our emotions,” explains Manuel Bottazzo, graphic designer and creator of the logo.
“It is impossible to represent its infinite richness graphically: the multitude of sounds, the alternation of highs and lows, black and white, words of love, freedom and rebellion. MÜJIGA was born from this idea: a bold symbol taking the form of a living, vibrating wave, representing the energy of music and the emotions it carries with it. A wave destined to resonate in the hearts and souls of the participants in the 40th edition of the Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel.”
HOW TO TAKE PART: THREE WAYS TO ENTER
Once again in 2027, the Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel will welcome 8,000 participants, equally divided between Italy and the rest of the world. There are three ways to try to secure a race number:
online pre-registration on the website: www.maratona.it<http://www.maratona.it> between October 14th and November 10th 2026 with participation in the draw which will take place in the second half of November 2026
purchasing of an accommodation package (minimum 4 nights) + guaranteed registration, which are managed and sold from October 12th 2026 on the website of our official tour operator, Holimites: www.holimites.com<http://www.holimites.com> For further international official tour operators (including contacts) please visit www.maratona.it/en/tour-operator-en<http://www.maratona.it/en/tour-operator-en>
charity registrations which are sold online only on the website maratona.it on November 25th 2026 and on March 18th 2027. Find out more on the following link: https://www.maratona.it/en/charity-entries-2027
THREE ROUTES
Three routes, one extraordinary setting: the Dolomites and their legendary mountain passes, strictly closed to traffic for the Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel. Riders can choose between the Maratona, 138 km with 4,230 metres of elevation gain, the Medium, 106 km with 3,130 metres of elevation gain, and the Sellaronda, 55 km with 1,780 metres of elevation gain, experiencing the day according to their own energy and ambitions.
The routes wind their way over the Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Giau, Falzarego and Valparola passes, climbs steeped in cycling history that invite riders to look beyond the effort, raise their eyes to the mountains and rediscover the beauty of the landscape and the pleasure of experiencing it by bike.
There will be plenty of surprises and music along the routes to celebrate the 40th edition, without taking away from those magical moments when everything falls silent and all that can be heard is the gentle sound of bicycles moving across the tarmac. Silence, too, will have its place in the soundtrack of the Maratona.
THE MARATONA TAKES ITS STORY TO COPENHAGEN AND LONDON
On November 9th 2026, the Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel will be presented in Copenhagen as part of the Italian Sports Day in the World, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Hosted at the Italian Residence and opened with a welcome from the Italian Ambassador to Denmark, the event will focus on Italian and Danish cycling culture. It will be an opportunity to present the 40th edition of the Maratona and strengthen the connection between two countries united by their passion for cycling.
The journey will then continue to London, where the collaboration with Rouleur Live will be renewed from 12th to 14th November 2026. The Maratona, together with the Alta Badia tourist destination, will be present with a dedicated stand, a space to meet cycling enthusiasts, media and international partners, share the spirit of the event and offer a first taste of the celebrations for its 40th anniversary. Two international stops to meet old friends and welcome new cycling enthusiasts into the Maratona community.
SELLARONDA BIKE DAY AND DOLOMITES BIKE DAY: TWO EVENTS COMBINING BEAUTY AND NATUR
For those unable to take part in the highly sought-after Maratona dles Dolomites – Enel, Alta Badia offers three other days dedicated entirely to cyclists.
The first Sellaronda Bike Day will take place on Saturday, June 5th 2027, with a second edition on Saturday, September 11th 2027, while the Dolomites Bike Day will be held on Saturday, June 19th 2027.
These are non-competitive events, open to all cyclists and with no registration required. For the occasion, the Dolomite passes will be strictly closed to motorised traffic: Gardena, Sella, Pordoi and Campolongo for the Sellaronda Bike Day, and Campolongo, Falzarego and Valparola for the Dolomites Bike Day.
More information:
SSD Comitato Maratona dles Dolomites – www.maratona.it – Phone: +39 (0)471 839536 – Email: info@maratona.it<mailto:info@maratona.it>
Alta Badia Tourist Offices – www.altabadia.org – Phone: +39 0471/836176-847037 – Email: info@altabadia.org
