Cortina d'Ampezzo - Lienz giorno 1

A short 3-day road-gravel ride starting from Cortina. We park and leave the car in the large parking lot just before the entrance to the town, a little below the main road, and immediately take the bike path, where we quickly come across a fountain to fill our water bottles; The route continues past the hospital along the dirt bike path leading to the Cimabanche Pass; in fact, this will be practically the only uphill climb of the day, which is actually fine considering we woke up at 3:20 a.m. to reach Cortina. We then continue along the very wide and well-maintained gravel path (the long Via delle Dolomiti), which takes us past Lake Landro and offers a beautiful and always thrilling (though also very touristy) view of the Three Peaks of Lavaredo.

We continue on to Lake Dobbiaco, Dobbiaco, and then take the famous Dobbiaco -Lienz route, which, given the season—early June—and some intermittent drizzle, is fortunately almost devoid of cyclists. I won’t dwell on the description since it’s very well-known, but it’s always beautiful and pleasant, gently leading us to Lienz, the end of our first stage.

Day 2