Cycling, Sunday 31 August in Soelden La Oetztaler

“The World Granfond World Championship”, the most hard cycling race that is there: there are many ways in which the Ötztaler Radmarathon is defined, but to really understand what it is we must find a place among the 4000 participants and present yourself on the starting grid in Sölden, at 6.30 in the morning of a late summer day. The edition that will be staged on August 31 will be the number 44: it is since 1982, in fact, that this appointment gives luster to the Ötz valley and all the Austrian Tyrol, as well as to Vipiteno and Val Passiria in the long stretch of road that is covered between the Italian borders. A Sunday of celebration, consecrated to the passion for two wheels and perfect to admire the spectacular landscapes that those alpine areas know how to give, guests of an organization rooted at the limits of perfection.

EPIC

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“Ich habe einen traum”, is the most popular phrase in Sölden in the days preceding the way: you hear it and read it everywhere. And Martin Luther King has nothing to do with it: “I have a Dream” has a completely different meaning here, the “dream” is a purely personal aspiration, a challenge with yourself to try to complete the 227 km on which the track unfolds. In reality, alone you are never, at the Ötztaler: a little because you pedal among thousands of cyclists (just under a sixth of the 25,222 who have tried to register from 50 different countries), a bit because there are 1300 volunteers on the route and the refreshments, to which the police and the inhabitants of the place are added, always ready to incite the most tired, who needs it. To have the “finisher” shirt, the track must be closed within the maximum time, and there are those who arrive when the sun has already set for a while: over the years, many epic images of men and women distorted by the effort have been shown by photographers and televisions (even before in 2019 Örm TV was born, totally dedicated to the event).

The path

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The expected steps, after a departure of 30 km downhill to reach the Kühtai’s feet, the first ascent of the day with tips of 18% of slope. From the top you go to the beaten to Innsbruck, taking breath to attack the very long passage of the Brenner who brings cyclists to Italy. Skilment, descent to Vipiteno and away with the pass of the Giovo, always demanding, to move to Val Passiria. The highlight, however, is the final climb, that passage of the rhombus (or Timmelsjoch, if you prefer) that presents itself when already legs and lungs have given a lot. And that frightens and exhausted, with its 27 km merciless. “How to make two giau with 4 km rest between one and the other,” say the ones who also completed the Marathon Dles Dolomites, which has the most demanding obstacle in the Giau pass. If you arrive there, the “dream” seems at hand, but in reality it is still long, very long … and there is no gel, a slice of cake or supplement that holds: you only go on for desire and heart, to avoid being brought back to Sölden by one of the “pulmini-scopa” that collect those who surrender.