Südtirol SellaRonda Hero Mtb-Marathon

The organization of the second edition of the Südtirol SellaRonda Hero Mtb-Marathon has got off to a great start with one-third of the final objective – 1,500 bikers at the starting line – already reached. “We are confident that we will have another thousand competitors between now and 2nd July,” comment the organizers.ganization

There has been a real boom of accesses and registrations since 20th October 2010, when the organizers of the Südtirol SellaRonda Hero Mtb-Marathon officially opened the new website of the event and, at the same time, the countdown for registrations started. The result: 48 hours later, more than 100 mountain bike fans had decided to accept the challenge of “Europe’s hardest mountain bike race” on Saturday 2nd July. It was as though they were just waiting to be able to accept the challenge!

We’re already at the “half-thousand” mark

Today, almost 5 months from the Südtirol SellaRonda Hero Mtb-Marathon, the list of entrants has reached 528 bikers, but what is most impressive is that, although the event is very young, with only one edition behind it, the echo of the “Hero” has crossed the national borders, with so far 20 countries, including many non-European nations, represented in the 500 entrants to date. Naturally Italians represent the lion’s share with over 300 registrations ( and of these 20% come from the region of Emilia Romagna), but the presence of bikers from Singapore, India, Australia and the USA must not come as a surprise. The organizers themselves explain the reason for this: “This result proves the exceptional international interest in the Südtirol SellaRonda Hero,” commented Gerhard Vanzi who together with Peter Runggaldier conceived and “packaged” the debut edition last year, “which appeals both for the technical aspect of the route and the beauty of the Dolomites scenery which we are pleased to recall has become part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.” It is not surprising that the event has had a reception of this proportion, as in winter too the Val Gardena, the nerve centre of the event, is the destination in the South Tyrol with the most international public.

Registration and race pack

The organizing committee has fixed a maximum limit of 1500 bikers. The registration fee is Euro 60 (plus Euro 10 for the deposit on the chip) until April 30, 2011. This year again, the participants at the Südtirol SellaRonda Hero Mtb-Marathon will receive a high level race pack containing: a Deuter Race X backpack specifically for mountain bikes, a  “limited edition” Hero race jersey by Gore Bike Wear and a Guasto bandana. From the technical point of view, little has changed since the debut one year ago with the two routes representing a real challenge: “The toughest is the marathon route of 82 kilometres but we have also kept the 50 kilometre route accessible to “almost” everybody”, comments Peter Runggaldier,  “but both have in common the beauty of the Dolomites because they touch on the four valleys around the Sella Group, the Val Gardena, the Alta Badia, Arabba, Val di Fassa and, last but not least, the Alpe di Siusi».

Spot “Südtirol Sellaronda Hero 2011” – English Version from Val Gardena – Gröden on Vimeo.

For further information: www.sellarondahero.com