Maratona: Part I (Waiting to Go-Go)

It’s a magical experience descending 8 kilometers from your hotel, at the base of the Falzarego, to the start of the Maratona. When you leave it’s around 5:00 AM, and dawn is just breaking. You’re dressed in knee and arm warmers and a vest, to fight the 10-12° C temperature. The cold air of the descent doesn’t help, but the adrenaline keeps it in check.

As you wind your way down the road to La Villa, you start seeing more and more cyclists, leaving their tents and hotels, as you weave your way through villages like San Cassiano. By the time you're within sight of La Villa, you're already in the midst of a small peloton. It’s all downhill, apart from a short incline, taking you to the intersection where you’re shepherded left or right to your assigned starting place.

Considering that the organizers have to assemble 8,500 cyclists in and around a village with a population of 1,267, things work out surprisingly well. Once you get to your assigned start area, there’s nothing more to do than wait, relieve yourself, stay warm, and patiently shove your way towards the front of the line.

A crude video, made with my phone, of one of the 5 start areas.