sports drink to coffee to Strudel or Speck sandwiches. Riders' Week The week prior to the Maratona is an event called "Riders' Week". Group rides, training rides, cycling events, and parties are organized and held daily. Many racers therefore spend the entire week preceding the Maratona in the Val Badia. The courses (see also: external map of the courses) Overview Sellaronda course The Sellaronda course starts in the village of La Ila and finishes in the village of Corvara. The course goes clockwise around the Sella mountain group. Four passes must be surmounted to finish the course. After the start the course follows the main road through the Val Badia to the village of Corvara. The ascent to Campolongo Pass begins immediately behind the village. After crossing Campolongo Pass the course descends to the village of Arabba in the Fodom valley; from there it climbs to the Pordoi Pass and then descends into the Fassa valley. There the climb to the Sella Pass begins, from which the riders descend into Gardena valley. The last pass the Sellaronda course traverses is the Gardena Pass. From it the course begins its final descent towards the finish at Corvara. Total distance: Total altitude difference: Middle course The Middle course follows immediately after the Sellaronda course. Riders wishing to tackle it, do not stop after the Sellaronda's finish line, but directly proceed to ascend Campolongo Pass a second time. In Arabba the middle course deviates from the earlier course and follows the road out of the Fodom valley to the village of Cernadoi. Here the course splits: rider choosing to do the entire Maratona proceed to the village of Colle Santa Lucia, while the remaining riders begin the ascend to the Falzarego Pass. At the top of the pass riders climb further 80m to reach the Valparola Pass. From there the road descends to the village of San Ćiascian and passing through La Ila reaches the finishing line in Corvara. Total distance: Total altitude difference: Maratona course Riders who have chosen to do the Maratona course split off from the Middle course in the village of Cernadoi. The Maratona dles Dolomites proceeds from there to the village and uncategorised climb of the Colle Santa Lucia, after which the steepest of all climbs begins: the climb to Giau Pass. From Giau Pass the road goes down to Pocol, from where the course rises to the