UPDATE 5 August 2022: Maratona dles Dolomites champion Stefano accused of motor doping…read story HERE.

European cyclists had over twenty gran fondo events to choose from on the weekend of 4 July, but non more prestigious and beautiful than the 35th Maratona dles Dolomites in Italy, where 6871 riders were lucky enough to gain entry via lottery.

27 year-old Stefano Stagni won the 138 kilometer long race with over 4230 meters of altitude gain in 4:27:33 after defeating two top tier amateur riders, Tommaso Elettrico (4:29:08) and the Portuguese Goncalo Freitas (4:29:58).

Among women, the Dutch Marta Maltha rode to her second consecutive victory with a time of 5:12:27, followed by Martina Trevisol (5:20:16) and Annalisa Prato (5:21:40).

24 year-old Mauti Rossano won the 106 kilometer medio fondo race in 4:22:27, with 44 year-old Lisa De Cesare winning the women’s race in 4:12:04.

With an impressive display of physical ability and consistency, Italy’s 64 year-old Rocco Cattaneo won his age category for the seventh consecutive time in 5:21:46.

Organizers also announced two participants were involved in two separate serious crashes during the event and transported by Alpine rescue helicopter to hospital in San Maurizio.

The first took place on Passo Sella where a male rider crashed hard and took a severe blow to the face. Passo Falzarego was the site of the second incident, where a rider collapsed to the ground holding their chest.

Complete Maratona dles Dolomites results HERE.

Photos: Maratona dles Dolomites