In road cycling, the mountain passes of the Sellaronda, located in the Dolomites of northern Italy, inspire something akin to religious reverence, with climbs such as the Passo Pordoi appearing regularly on both the Giro d’Italia and cyclists’ life lists. While this region has only recently embraced mountain biking, it has already developed a classic dirt analog of the Sellaronda, but with an emphasis on iconic descents rather than lung-busting climbs: the Sellaronda MTB Loop is a 36-mile Dolomites highlight reel — and chairlifts do most of the work.
Although cyclists have been following the farm and forest roads that climb the Dolomites for decades, dedicated mountain biking trails developed recently relative to elsewhere in Europe and the USA, owing in large part to strict Italian land-management regulations and layers of government bureaucracy, coupled with the Dolomites’ status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “Compared to the USA, the MTB movement in the Dolomites arrived later and required the large-scale creation of dedicated infrastructure,” said Diego Clara of Dolomiti SuperSummer, which administers access to 140 alpine chairlifts across the Dolomites.
As soon as modern mountain biking reached the Dolomites in the late aughts, several of the lift operators and local bike clubs began preparing a route specifically for the sport, modelled after both the famous Sellaronda ski circuit and the Sellaronda road loop. Initial scepticism from remaining lift operators about the potential of an analogous alpine loop for bikes quickly turned to stoke. In 2010, the HERO Dolomites MTB Marathon took place on what would eventually become the Sellaronda MTB Loop. The following year, development of bike-optimized trails on the route began. The highlight came ten years ago when Val di Fassa, on the west side of the Sellaronda massif, became part of the Enduro World Series (EWS), which has staged a race in Canazei almost every year.
Today, the area boasts numerous bike parks as well as many popular inter-valley trails. But the Sellaronda remains the crown jewel, connecting many of the region’s highlights, from mellow flow trails to raw, root-strewn tracks that perennially put EWS competitors to the test. Infinity, a three-mile, 2,300-foot descent from Passo Pordoi, alternates fast alpine chunder with steep banking turns before the trail enters a dense canopy of pines with their suspension-sapping roots. On the east side of the loop, Flè (which means “flow” in the local Ladin language) traces long, loping curves through alpine meadows. Meanwhile, the Paravis and Easy Jump Trail at Selva di Val Gardena unspool like typical bermed bike park trails, only with the added distraction of the sky-scraping Dolomites in every direction.
Riders can begin the Sellaronda from any of the four valleys that surround the Sella Massif — Alta Badia, Arabba, Val di Fassa, or Val Gardena — all of which are part of the Dolomiti SuperSummer network, which grants access to all lifts with a single ticket. Although riders can tackle the loop in either direction, the clockwise route maximizes the descents; the hardest part for most riders will be deciding which summit café has the best strudel.
For most riders of the Sellaronda Loop, a guide is essential for navigating both the numerous gondolas and the Italian-only signage. The region has only recently embraced international tourism, and the Dolomites remain a refreshing vestige of authentic European travel.
It all connects to create one of the world’s most beautiful mountain bike loops. Overhead are the sky-scraping spires of the Dolomites; a different serrated skyline unfurls in every direction. Below unfold impossibly green ski slopes where cattle graze; here, where farming still dominates, cows mow the many groomed runs of the ski areas. Cafes and yard games dot the broad, flat grassy summits, where groms and their grandparents sip espresso. The Dolomites may have embraced mountain biking relatively recently, but it has already developed a heritage rivaling its skinny-tired kin.
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