The Val di Fassa Bike organizing committee has finally revealed innovations and technical aspects of the route for the 2015 edition of this international mountain bike granfondo race taking place on Sunday, September 13th, in Moena (TN) in Val di Fassa.
The race is valid as a test for the UCI MTB Marathon World Series, the Marathon Tour FCI, the Prestigio, the Zero Wind MTB Cup and the Alpine Pearls MTB Cup. It will be disputed over two different routes: the Marathon (61.3 km for 2898 m altitude difference) and the Classic (46.3 km for 2071 m altitude difference), which is also accessible to e-bikes.
“Contrary to what had already been announced previously, the routes have been revised during the last several weeks with the aim of offering participants even more adrenaline and fun. There will be sections deep in the woods surrounding Moena, with plenty of changes in rhythm, surface and scenery. We have added new dirt trails and even steeper descents. Furthermore, in both the Marathon and the Classic, bikers will have to take on some entirely new single tracks” explains head of route planning Gianfranco Degiampietro.
After the starting line set up in the southern area of Moena (in via Riccardo Lowy on State Road S.S. 48 delle Dolomiti) and the passage through the famous tourist resort in Val di Fassa (Piaz de Sotegrava and Piaz de Ramon) the two routes will take on different directions, towards the municipalities of Soraga, Pozza di Fassa and Vigo di Fassa.
The Marathon bikers will get right down to business on the hard climb (9 km for 1030 m altitude difference) towards the Mountain Grand Prix at Lusia-Le Cune (2200 m) to then descend to Passo Lusia (2055 m) and take on the first, all-new single track (3 km for185 m altitude difference) that goes to the village of Colvere (1870 m).
From here a long descent will go towards località Ronchi, near the valley station for the Alpe Lusia cabin lift, where the two separate Marathon and Classic routes meet up and merge to proceed together all the way to the finish line, with parts on ski slopes, cement or asphalt roads, hilly stretches across fields, forest trails, cycling paths and single tracks in the middle of the woods.
The most important new addition participants will have to face, regardless of the route chosen, is the long and challenging single track from Col da La Chiusa to the hamlet of malga Roncac (about 2.5 km for 370 m altitude change) where the descent will be clocked to assign prizes for the three fastest times.
For a complete description of the Marathon and Classic routes: Val di Fassa Bike