Giuseppe Orlando (Better Nutrition ASD) won the 8th edition of the Top Dolomites Gran Fondo on Sunday, edging two-time defending champion Patrick Facchini (Team Biemme Garda Sport) in a sprint finish at the end of the 111-kilometer granfondo through the Brenta Dolomites. Orlando’s winning time was 03:13:40.
The race came down to two riders. After descending from the Passo del Durone near Zuclo, Orlando and Facchini dropped the field and traded blows all the way to the finish in Pinzolo, where Orlando took the sprint by the narrowest of margins. Lorenzo Zumerle (ASD Team FP) claimed third, edging Matteo Freddi (Team Biemme Garda Sport) in a parallel battle for the final podium step.
Orlando, 25, born in Monteforte Cilento in the Campania region of southern Italy, is one of the most decorated riders on the Italian gran fondo circuit. His palmares includes the Marmotte Granfondo Alpes, the Lombardia 2023, and the Sportful Dolomiti Race 2024. He is also a former dilettante who participated in the Giro d’Italia Next Gen. Just one week prior to Sunday’s race, Orlando had won the Granfondo Marcialonga in the Dolomites.
Facchini, the local favorite and a multiple Top Dolomites winner, turned professional in 2013 with Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela before testing positive for Tuaminoheptane at the Tour of Belgium in 2014, serving a 10-month UCI ban and losing his pro contract. Returning to racing after ten years, he won the Top Dolomites in 2023 2024, and 2025, making Sunday’s defeat a genuine upset.
In the women’s granfondo, Valentina Brivio (Team OOP Xanten) was dominant, finishing in 03:51:26. Katia Mennea (Team Garda Matergia) was second and Mara Oprandi (Team Biemme Garda Sport) third.
The Top Dolomites follows roads that have made the Giro d’Italia legendary. Among Sunday’s 1,500 participants was a notable amateur guest: 1988 UCI Road World Champion Maurizio Fondriest, who rode the event and noted the parcours follows the same training roads he used as a professional.
The 9th edition is already scheduled for 06 June 2027.
Top Dolomites Gran Fondo results HERE
Photo Credit: Top Dolomites Gran Fondo
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