La Pina Cycling Marathon is one of the Dolomites' best-kept secrets. 135 kilometres. Three major passes. 3,200 metres of climbing through Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa, on roads that switchback under rock faces most riders only know from Giro d'Italia helicopter shots. The climbs are long. The gradients are sustained. And the altitude — Passo Valles tops 2,033 metres — adds a dimension that catches sea-level riders badly if they haven't planned for it.
The event belongs to the Marcialonga family — the same organisation behind the legendary cross-country ski marathon that fills these valleys every winter. That gives La Pina an operational quality that smaller sportives can't match: well-stocked feed zones, clean roads, and a smaller field (2,000-4,000 riders) that means you are actually riding the Dolomite passes rather than queuing up them.
Here is how to train for La Pina across 16 weeks, with the climbing-specific work, the altitude preparation, and the pacing discipline that turns a long day in the mountains into a controlled one.
What Makes La Pina Different
The climbs are long, not steep. Where the Maratona dles Dolomites packs seven shorter passes into 138km — including the 9.3% Giau — La Pina's signature climbs run 14-18 kilometres at 5.5-6% average. That changes the physical demand. The Maratona is a repeated VO2-to-threshold effort. La Pina is a sustained aerobic grind — lower peak power, but a longer time at sub-threshold wattage where fuelling, cadence, and pacing discipline separate the riders who finish well from the riders who crawl over the last pass.
The altitude is real. Passo San Pellegrino peaks at 1,918m. Passo Valles at 2,033m. Passo Lavaze at 1,808m. At these altitudes, sea-level riders lose 5-8% of their functional power. That does not sound like much until you are sitting on a 6% gradient 90 minutes into a climb, your heart rate is 10 beats higher than it should be, and the wattage you trained at in training feels like threshold. Altitude strategy is not optional for this event.
The field is smaller. The Maratona has 9,000 riders, a lottery entry system, and a congestion problem on the early passes. La Pina has 2,000-4,000 riders and no ballot. You turn up. You ride. The roads are cleaner, the hairpins are yours, and the day feels more like a mountain ride and less like a queue. If you missed the Maratona ballot — or if you prefer riding the Dolomites to shuffling through them — La Pina is the event.
The Marcialonga connection. La Pina sits inside a multi-sport family that has been running mass-participation mountain events in the Fiemme and Fassa valleys since 1971. The logistics show it. Feed zones are plentiful, the route marking is clear, the valley villages know the event and welcome it. It is a well-run sportive in a region that understands endurance sport.
Course Profile and Key Climbs
The full 135km route starts in Predazzo in Val di Fiemme and loops through the high Dolomite passes before returning. Three route options — 135km (long), 106km (medium), 80km (short) — share the same valley roads but diverge at the passes. The long route is the full experience.
Passo San Pellegrino (1,918m). The longest single climb of the day. Roughly 18km at an average of 5.5%. The gradient is rarely vicious — this is not a Giau or a Zoncolan — but its length is the weapon. At a pace of 250 watts for a 75kg rider, you are sitting on this climb for 50-70 minutes. The lower slopes through Moena and Falcade are steady, 4-5%. The final 6km steepens to 6-7% with tighter switchbacks as the treeline thins and the road opens onto alpine meadows. The summit at 1,918m is where altitude starts to count. Use the climb time calculator to model your ascent time at current FTP — if it comes back over 75 minutes, your gearing and nutrition plan both need adjusting.
Passo Valles (2,033m). The highest point on the route and arguably the crux of the day. Approximately 14km at 6% average. The gradient is more consistent than San Pellegrino — fewer flat sections, less variation, just a steady 5.5-6.5% grind from the valley floor. At 2,033m it is the moment where altitude effects are strongest, and it lands on legs that have already done significant climbing. The final 4km steepen above 6.5% and the air is noticeably thinner. Riders who paced San Pellegrino on feel rather than power arrive here 10-15 watts below where they need to be.
Passo Lavaze (1,808m). Shorter and lower than the other two major climbs but tactically important because of where it sits in the route. After the long descents from Valles, the road rises again through forest to Lavaze. The gradient averages 5-6% and the climb takes 25-35 minutes for most riders. The danger is complacency — it feels easier than the two big passes, so riders push harder than they should, then pay for it on the rolling roads home. Pace it as a high Zone 2 effort. Nothing more.
The descents. The drops off San Pellegrino and Valles are technical. Tight Dolomite switchbacks, road surfaces that vary from smooth to rough within a single hairpin, gradient changes that load the brakes hard. At 1,900-2,000m the air can be cold even in late June — 8-10°C at descent speed with wind chill pushing the effective temperature lower. Confident descending saves 5-10 minutes across the day and, more importantly, saves the energy burned by constant braking and tension. More on that below.
Fitness Benchmarks
Three tiers. Your W/kg determines which column you sit in, but sustained climbing capacity at altitude is what decides whether the number translates to the road.
| Level | W/kg (FTP) | Projected Finish (135km) | What It Feels Like | |---|---|---|---| | Strong | 3.8+ W/kg | 5-6 hours | Controlled climbing, comfortable on every pass, descents are recovery | | Comfortable | 3.2-3.8 W/kg | 6-8 hours | Steady on San Pellegrino, working hard on Valles, managing Lavaze | | Completion | 2.8-3.2 W/kg | 8-10 hours | Every pass is a long effort, survival pacing on Valles, time-cut pressure |
Below 2.8 W/kg, the 80km short route is the honest target. The full route at that power-to-weight with 3,200m of climbing at altitude is a day-long attrition exercise that risks cut-off trouble on Valles.
The altitude discount. Those W/kg numbers assume sea-level power. At 2,033m on Passo Valles, subtract 5-8% from your FTP. A rider holding 3.5 W/kg at home may be producing 3.2-3.3 W/kg at the summit of Valles. Plan for the altitude number, not the home number. The race predictor lets you model the gap.
The 16-Week Training Plan
Four phases: base, build, sharpen, taper. The extra two weeks compared to a typical 14-week sportive build are there because the altitude and sustained climbing demand a deeper aerobic base. Volumes assume a starting point of 7-9 hours/week.
Phase 1: Base (Weeks 1-6)
Volume: 8-10 hours/week, building to 10-11 by week 6.
The foundation. Four to five rides per week with 80% in Zone 2. This is the aerobic engine that everything else sits on — and for an event with 50-70 minute climbs at altitude, the engine matters more than the top end. Stephen Seiler's research on training intensity distribution is the framework here: the easy rides have to be properly easy, or you build fatigue without building the base.
Anchor session. A long Zone 2 ride building from 3 hours (week 1) to 4.5 hours (week 6) with climbing in the back half. By week 6, the long ride should have at least 1,000m of elevation and include two sustained climbs of 15-20 minutes. If you are training flat, use a turbo trainer with a climbing simulation — it is not as good as real hills, but sustained effort at low cadence on gradient is better than flat tempo.
Strength work. Two sessions per week of lower-body and core stability. Single-leg press, Bulgarian split squats, lunges, step-ups, and plank variations. The sustained climbing at La Pina loads the glutes and VMO for extended periods — single-leg strength work builds the resilience those muscles need. No barbell squats or deadlifts. The injury risk for a 35-55 age group training for a cycling event is not worth the trade-off.
Phase 2: Build (Weeks 7-12)
Volume: 10-12 hours/week.
Two quality sessions per week. One threshold session and one sustained climbing block.
Threshold session. 3x12 minutes at 95-100% FTP in weeks 7-8, building to 2x20 minutes at 90-95% FTP by week 12. Rest intervals equal to half the effort duration. This is the engine for the upper slopes of San Pellegrino and the consistent 6% of Valles. Track these in the TSS calculator to manage the weekly training load — the build phase should see a steady 5-8% weekly TSS increase, not spikes.
Sustained climbing block. 3x15 minutes at 85-92% FTP on a real climb in weeks 7-9, extending to 2x25 minutes by week 12. Low cadence — 55-65 RPM — for at least one set per session. John Wakefield prescribes torque work for exactly this kind of event: the low-cadence effort recruits type 2 muscle fibres at aerobic intensities, building the muscular endurance that sustained Dolomite gradients demand.
Long ride progression. Build from 4.5 hours (week 7) to 5.5 hours (week 12) with 1,500-2,500m of climbing. By week 10, the long ride should include three sustained climbs of 20-30 minutes separated by descents — this is the closest single-day analogue to La Pina's shape. Track your VAM on these climbs across the block; a 5-10% improvement over six weeks is a strong signal that the climbing-specific work has landed.
Phase 3: Sharpen (Weeks 13-14)
Volume holds at 10-12 hours/week but the intensity distribution shifts.
Week 13. The hardest single weekend of the plan. Saturday: 5-5.5 hours with 2,500m of climbing including one 30-40 minute sustained climb at 85-90% FTP and a second at high Zone 2. Sunday: 2.5-3 hours rolling with gentle climbs. This is the Dolomite simulation day — if you can ride the Saturday session and follow it with a Sunday spin feeling tired but functional, the fitness is where it needs to be.
Week 14. Quality work compresses to shorter, sharper efforts. 3x8 minutes at threshold, 4x90 seconds at VO2 max, no more sustained climbing blocks. The long ride drops to 3.5-4 hours with 1,000m of climbing at a comfortable pace. The body is absorbing the build phase work — let it.
Over-under intervals work well in this phase: 3x12 minutes alternating 2 minutes at 95% FTP with 1 minute at 105% FTP. They simulate the gradient changes within a single Dolomite pass — the road kicks from 4% to 7%, your power spikes, and you need to settle back without redlining.
Phase 4: Taper (Weeks 15-16)
Week 15. Volume drops 30-35%. Three to four rides, nothing over 3 hours. Two sessions with short openers: 4x5 minutes at 90-95% FTP with full recovery. The training load calculator should show ATL dropping while CTL holds — that is the taper working.
Week 16. Volume drops another 40-50%. Two easy spins of 60-90 minutes with 3x3 minute openers at threshold. Travel to Val di Fiemme 2-3 days early. Ride one easy 90-minute spin on the local roads to feel the altitude and the gradient. Eat well, sleep well, hydrate. The fitness is banked. Do not chase it.
Key Sessions
These are the sessions that build Dolomite-specific fitness. All of them should appear regularly through the build and sharpen phases.
The 2x20. 2x20 minutes at 88-93% FTP with 10 minutes recovery. The gold standard for sustained climbing capacity. On a real climb, hold 55-65 RPM for the first set and free cadence for the second — the low-cadence set builds torque, the free-cadence set teaches you to settle into the rhythm the climb demands. If 2x20 is too much, start at 2x15 and build by 2 minutes per fortnight.
Over-under intervals. 3x12 minutes alternating 2 minutes at 93% FTP with 1 minute at 105% FTP. The gradient changes on a Dolomite pass — 4% to 7% within a single hairpin — mimic this pattern exactly. Your body needs to clear the lactate from the surge while maintaining pace for the next ramp. These sessions teach that.
Long climbing ride. 4-5.5 hours with 2,000-2,500m of elevation. Include at least three sustained climbs of 20-30 minutes. The last climb should be ridden at high Zone 2 on tired legs — this is the Passo Lavaze simulation. Practise your race-day nutrition on these rides: if you cannot eat 90g carbs/hour while climbing at Zone 2, fix the nutrition strategy before race week.
Low-cadence torque work. 4x6 minutes on a 5-7% gradient at 50-60 RPM, RPE 7/10. 4 minutes recovery between efforts. This session builds the neuromuscular connection that sustained climbing demands — forcing type 2 fibres to work aerobically and teaching the legs to produce steady power at low revolutions. One session per week through the build phase is enough.
Altitude simulation (if available). If you have access to an altitude training mask or an altitude tent, short exposure sessions at simulated 1,800-2,200m can improve oxygen utilisation. More practically: if you live near mountains above 1,500m, ride them. Even one weekend at altitude in the four weeks before the event gives your body a signal. If none of that is possible, the honest adaptation is to plan for a 5-8% power discount on race day and pace accordingly.
Altitude Strategy
This is the section most La Pina guides skip, and it is the one that catches the most riders.
Three passes above 1,800 metres. Passo Valles above 2,000 metres. At these elevations, the partial pressure of oxygen is roughly 20% lower than at sea level. For a trained cyclist, that translates to a 5-8% reduction in sustainable power output — and a disproportionate increase in perceived exertion.
Here is what that means practically. A rider with a sea-level FTP of 280 watts (3.7 W/kg at 75kg) may find that 260-265 watts feels like threshold on the upper slopes of Valles. Their heart rate will be 8-12 beats higher at the same watts. Their breathing will feel harder earlier. And if they pace on perceived exertion — which is what most riders do instinctively — they will ride the first half of Valles 15-20 watts above what they can sustain and collapse on the steeper final 4km.
Pace on power. This is non-negotiable at altitude. Set a wattage ceiling for each major pass — 85-88% of sea-level FTP is a good starting point — and hold it regardless of how the riders around you are climbing. The riders who pass you at the base of Valles will come back to you in the final 4km. They always do.
Arrive early. Travel to Val di Fiemme 2-3 days before the event. Spin easy at 1,000-1,500m on day one. Ride up to 1,800m on day two for 20-30 minutes at Zone 2. Sleep well, hydrate aggressively. Full acclimatisation takes 2-3 weeks, but even 48-72 hours of exposure at moderate altitude improves the body's initial ventilatory response and reduces the shock on race morning.
Hydration matters more at altitude. Respiratory water loss increases at altitude because you are breathing harder in dryer air. Add 150-200ml per hour to your sea-level hydration plan. The hydration calculator can model your sweat rate and altitude adjustment.
Cold at the top. Even in late June, the summits of San Pellegrino and Valles can be 6-10°C. After 50-70 minutes of climbing at threshold heart rate, the sweat-soaked jersey hits cold air and the body loses heat fast on the descent. Gilet in the pocket, arm warmers for the early morning start. A rain cape if the forecast shows any instability — Dolomite afternoon thunderstorms are a reliable feature of the summer calendar.
Nutrition Strategy
Long sustained climbs burn glycogen faster than equivalent flat riding at the same power output. The climbing position shifts more load to the glutes and quads, heart rate runs higher, and the altitude compounds the metabolic cost. A rider burning 700-800 calories per hour on a Dolomite pass is depleting glycogen stores faster than on a flat road at the same watts.
The plan: 90-100g carbohydrate per hour, every hour, from the first climb.
| Time Window | Intake | Notes | |---|---|---| | Pre-start (2-3 hours before) | 100-150g carbs — porridge, toast, banana, coffee | Top off glycogen, nothing new or experimental | | Hour 1 | 90g carbs — drink mix + 1 gel | Start fuelling before the first pass, not on it | | Hour 2 (San Pellegrino) | 90-100g — drink mix + bar or solid food | Eat on the lower slopes while the gradient is 4-5%, not on the steeper sections | | Hour 3 | 90g — gels + drink mix | Feed zones between passes, refill bottles | | Hour 4 (Valles) | 90-100g — 2 gels + drink mix + caffeine gel at 2/3 height | The crux of the day — arrive at the base with a full bottle and gels in pockets | | Hour 5+ (Lavaze and return) | 80-90g — gels + whatever you can face | Gut fatigue is real by now — liquid calories are easier than solids |
Eat before the climbs, not on them. At 85-90% FTP on a 6% gradient, digestion slows and the risk of GI distress rises. Eat on the valley roads and the descents. Arrive at the base of each major pass with food already absorbing, not food in the mouth.
Train your gut. If 90g/hour sounds like a lot, it is — for an untrained gut. Start at 60g/hour on long rides in the base phase and add 10g per week. By the build phase you should be comfortably absorbing 90g/hour on a 4-hour ride. The fuel planner can map this progression against your training schedule.
Cold drinks at altitude. The air above 1,800m is cooler, but the Dolomite UV at altitude is fierce. You still sweat. You still need electrolytes. Don't reduce fluid intake just because the temperature feels comfortable — the combination of altitude, climbing effort, and UV strips water faster than you feel.
Gearing
Get this sorted early. Do not arrive in the Dolomites with the cassette you trained on in Suffolk.
Compact crankset (50/34) is the floor. A standard 53/39 on sustained Dolomite passes is a decision you will regret at the 12km marker of San Pellegrino when the road kicks to 7% and your legs are already four hours deep.
Cassette: 32t minimum, 34t sensible. The sustained 5.5-6% average gradients do not look extreme on paper. But after 2,000m of climbing with altitude stripping 5-8% of your power, the gear you dismissed as too easy in training is the gear that lets you keep pedalling at 65rpm instead of grinding at 45rpm. Grinding at 45rpm on a 50-minute climb does not build character. It builds cramp.
Run the numbers through the gear ratio calculator. At 75kg, 250 watts, and 6% gradient, the difference between a 28t and a 32t rear cog is roughly 12rpm. Over a 60-minute climb, that cadence difference is the margin between controlled pedalling and muscular failure.
Test on tired legs. The biggest gearing mistake is testing on a fresh Saturday morning. Your race gearing needs to work at the end of a 4-hour ride on a 7% local climb. If you are cross-chaining or grinding below 55rpm in that scenario, the cassette needs to change. Chains, cassettes, and rear derailleurs are cheap relative to the cost of bonking on Passo Valles because you could not spin a sustainable cadence.
Descending the Dolomites
The descents off San Pellegrino and Valles are technical and they are long. Tight switchbacks, variable road surfaces, gradient changes that load the brakes hard, and — depending on the day — other riders of varying descending ability sharing the same hairpins.
Braking. Disc brakes are a significant advantage on the longer Dolomite descents. 15-20 minutes of sustained braking on carbon rim brakes in the wet is a heat-management exercise that takes attention away from the road. If you are on rim brakes, brake hard into corners and release fully on the straights — never drag. Alternate braking bias front-to-rear every few hairpins to manage heat.
Line choice. Enter switchbacks wide, apex tight, exit wide. On a closed-road sportive the temptation is to carry speed through the hairpins. Resist it. The road surface on Dolomite switchbacks changes — smooth tarmac to rough aggregate within the same corner. Hold a line you can adjust from, not one that commits you.
Body position. Weight back and low on the saddle. Outside knee into the top tube on corners. Hands in the drops, not on the hoods — the drops give more braking power and a lower centre of gravity. If your hands cramp from cold or sustained braking, pull over for 30 seconds and shake them out. Better to lose 30 seconds voluntarily than to miss a braking point because your fingers are numb.
The time and energy cost of poor descending. A confident descender gains 5-10 minutes across three major descents. More importantly, they arrive at the base of the next climb relaxed rather than adrenaline-spiked, with arms and shoulders that are not locked from tension. Descending is a free-speed skill for climbing sportives. If it is a weakness, practise on familiar roads before the event — not on Dolomite hairpins for the first time on race day.
Race Day Pacing
The defining mistake at La Pina — and at every long mountain sportive — is going too hard on the first pass because the legs feel fresh and the field is moving.
San Pellegrino is not the race. It is the opening act. Ride it at 82-87% of your sea-level FTP. That will feel comfortable. It should feel comfortable. You need to arrive at Valles with glycogen in the tank and legs that have not been redlined for 60 minutes already.
Valles is the race. This is where the day is decided. The altitude, the accumulated climbing, the gradient, and the fatigue converge. Set a wattage ceiling — 85-88% of your altitude-adjusted FTP — and hold it. Do not respond to surges around you. The riders who pass you at the base will fade in the final 4km. Ride your own watts.
Lavaze is the trap. After the long descent from Valles, the road rises again and Lavaze feels easier than the previous two passes. It is shorter. The gradient is gentler. The temptation is to push the pace. Don't. Ride it at high Zone 2 and save the remaining glycogen for the rolling roads home. Many riders lose 15-20 minutes on the final section because they emptied themselves on a pass that did not need to be raced.
Negative-split the day. Aim to ride the last hour of the event faster — or at least as strongly — as the first hour of climbing. If your power data shows a steady decline from pass one to pass three, the pacing was wrong. The ideal La Pina power file is a flat line across every climb, with the descents and valley roads as genuine recovery.
Common Mistakes
Underestimating the altitude. The single most common error. Riders train at sea level, hit 280 watts on their local 15-minute hill, and expect 280 watts at 2,033m on Valles. They get 255 watts and 10 beats higher on the heart rate. Pace for altitude from the start of the first pass, not from the moment you notice something is wrong.
Wrong gearing. A 28t cassette is fine for 20-minute climbs on fresh legs. It is not fine for 50-minute climbs at altitude on legs that have already climbed 2,000m. The rider grinding at 45rpm on the upper slopes of Valles is the rider who tested their gearing on a Sunday morning spin, not at the end of a 4-hour block.
Not eating on the lower slopes. The steady 4-5% gradients at the base of each pass are the eating window. Once the gradient hits 6%+ and the heart rate is at 85-90% max, digestion slows and the risk of nausea rises. Front-load nutrition into the lower slopes and the valley roads. If you are eating your first gel of the hour at the 12km marker of San Pellegrino, it is already too late.
Poor descending costing time and energy. Every minute lost on a descent is a minute added to the day. Every minute spent with locked arms and white knuckles is energy burned that the legs needed. Practise descending before race week. If you cannot descend a Dolomite hairpin at 40-50km/h with your hands relaxed, work on it — or accept the time cost and factor it into your pacing plan.
Ignoring the weather window. Late June in the Dolomites can range from 28°C in the valley to 6°C at the summit of Valles, with afternoon thunderstorms that arrive without much warning above 1,800m. Check the forecast the morning of the event. Carry a gilet at minimum. Carry a rain cape if there is any instability in the forecast. Hypothermia on a Dolomite descent after 4 hours of climbing is a medical event, not a minor inconvenience.
Not training sustained climbs. La Pina's passes are 14-18km long. Riders who train exclusively on 5-minute hill repeats arrive with a strong top end and no sustained climbing capacity. The 2x20 at 88-93% FTP is the bread-and-butter session. If you cannot hold sub-threshold power for 20 continuous minutes on a gradient, the 50-minute San Pellegrino climb will teach you the difference between interval fitness and climbing fitness — and the lesson is not gentle.
How the Not Done Yet Community Trains for This
Inside the Not Done Yet community on Skool, several members have ridden La Pina and the other Dolomite sportives. The event-specific discussion threads cover everything from hotel logistics in Predazzo to which feed zones are worth stopping at. If you are building towards La Pina, the community is the place to find riders who have ridden these passes and can tell you where the gradient bites and where the descents catch people out.
Race Day Kit and Logistics
Bike. Climbing-oriented road bike. Disc brakes preferred for the long descents but not essential — rim brakes work if you manage heat on the switchbacks and your pads are fresh. Tubeless tyres or quality clinchers, full repair kit, and a CO2 inflator as backup.
Clothing. Start layer: jersey, arm warmers, knee warmers if the valley start is below 12°C. Gilet stashed in the jersey for every descent. Rain cape if the forecast is uncertain — and in late June Dolomite weather, it usually is. Long-finger gloves for the start if you run cold. Sun cream at every feed zone — the UV above 1,800m is fierce even when the air temperature says otherwise.
Bottles. Two 750ml bottles. Electrolyte mix in both. Refill at every feed zone, not every other one. Dehydration at altitude compounds faster than at sea level, and a rider who misses one bottle refill on a 28°C valley day arrives at the base of Valles already behind on fluid. The hydration calculator gives you a baseline sweat rate to plan from.
Logistics. La Pina typically runs in late June or early July. Registration is through the Marcialonga organisation. Unlike the Maratona, there is no ballot — entries open and fill over weeks, not hours. Most riders stay in Predazzo, Cavalese, or Moena in Val di Fiemme. All are within easy reach of the start and all have the kind of Italian evening meal culture — pasta, bread, local wine — that makes pre-race carb-loading a pleasure rather than a chore. Arrive 2-3 days early. Spin easy on the local roads. Eat well. Sleep at altitude.
The Dolomites reward riders who prepare honestly. La Pina is 135km of sustained mountain climbing through some of the most dramatic scenery in European cycling — quieter than the Maratona, no less physical, and with the kind of Dolomite light on the upper passes that makes you understand why people keep coming back. Train the sustained climbing. Fix the gearing. Respect the altitude. The day is hard and the day is magnificent, and the two things are not separate. If you are building a Dolomite season, the Maratona dles Dolomites, the Granfondo Stelvio, and the Sella Ronda Bike Day are the natural companions.