Hero Dolomites 2023: Registration starts on 3 October 2022
Is the Hero Dolomites in South Tyrol really the toughest mountain bike marathon in Europe? The answer is: it depends. But whoever completes the 86 kilometres with an elevation gain of around 4,500 metres on 17 June 2023 can officially call themselves a hero. Find out why in the Hero report by BIKE editor-in-chief Henri Lesewitz. He also had to fight hard for his hero status in 2016.
However, you don't just have to hurry on the course to make the less than generous waiting times. Registration is also like the early morning mass start: after a few hours, everything is over.
In this case, a rough estimate means that as long as it takes to release the more than 4,000 participants from the starting blocks on the morning of the marathon across the starting line, these 4,000 starting places are sold out just as quickly on the day of registration: after hours.
In addition to the skilful marketing strategy - the "Hero" brand continues to be a hit and will also be shown as a series in Dubai and Thailand in the future - Lesewitz recognised one of the main reasons for the now mass hero forging, above all, in the picturesque landscape of South Tyrol. The Sella massif is such an imposing natural backdrop that it is unrivalled anywhere in the world and inspired him to use such epic words:
"The Sella massif towers like the work of a megalomaniac sculptor in the already monumental Dolomites. A granite block of gigantic proportions. Bare, angular, silver-grey. The stony heart of the marathon, the route around which is so eventful that at times the exertions seem like sacrifices. You thank the mountain for its splendour and give it your breath." Henri Lesewitz, Editor-in-Chief of BIKE Magazine
So the time has come on 3 October 2022: registration for Hero Dolomites 2023 begins. Will it end on the same day? That depends. Namely, on how quickly and how many people register on the Hero website send off their order, the application for their personal heroic saga - but first they have to overcome the normal pitfalls of a very tough mountain bike marathon to reach the happy ending. In this case, it's 86 kilometres and 4500 metres of altitude against the clock.
Well, there is also a short 60-kilometre tour. And as part of the four-day bike festival that has been added, there are also pleasure tours, even with e-bikes. Even if the epic natural stage is big, it doesn't necessarily have to be the setting for the big drama.
