Courtesy of Maratona dles Dolomites/Alta Badia
Mattia Casse returns to Val Gardena for two-wheel summer training
World Cup winner trades skis for cycling challenge.
After landing his first World Cup win here last winter, Italian skier competes in Maratona dles Dolomites cycling race
Mattia Casse returned to the site of his inaugural World Cup win this summer, but not to relive the best day of his life.
In summer, the 35-year-old Italian ski veteran is big into cycling. Bombing down mountain passes on two wheels feels much like attacking Val Gardena’s Saslong course on skis.
Casse returned to the slopes of his breakthrough super-G victory last winter, the same hill where he earned his first World Cup podium in 2022. For the fifth straight summer, he entered the Maratona dles Dolomites, an iconic cycling race in Alta Badia that draws 8,000 participants from 92 countries. The event features three gran fondo options. This July, Casse took on the classic Sellaronda course, which climbs 55 kilometers and 1,780 meters over four steep mountain passes. One of those is the famed Gardena, where the Saslong course winds below in lush green, framed by jagged Dolomite peaks in every direction.
From Saslong to cycling’s grand stage
“Every time I participate because I think it’s the best bike amateur race in Europe,” Casse says. “Everything around that event is special – organization, accommodation, volunteers, people and amazing landscape.”
The Maratona is billed as an amateur race, but numerous pros line up every year, including former winners of the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. This July, Casse was the 34th man across the Sellaronda finish in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 43 seconds.
“My best moment is the start time with friends, sports champions and all the guys around. Then for sure, when I’m on the top of Pordoi Pass and you can look all around. It’s something unbelievable,” the skier says. “I love to come to Gardena both in summer but above all, as you can imagine, in winter. When I won here it was one of the best moments in my life.”
Hailing from Italy’s Piedmont region, Casse spends much of his summer cycling with friends in nearby Bergamo but also dedicates time to the Dolomites. This June, he joined the Castelli 24H, an overnight cycling race in Feltre.
Cycling and skiing similarities
“I go cycling because I fall in love with struggle and hard work,” he says, adding that two-wheel efforts are fantastic training and preparation for ski racing.
“It’s a kind of training that helps me to prepare to be resistant and specific training with watt max to improve my power,” he says.
In the Maratona, riding up the steep passes means grinding in granny gear. Going down, cyclists hit 14-percent grades packed with hairpin turns, easily reaching 60 mph. While terrifying for many riders, it feels like a thrill – and actually on the slow side – for Casse.
“I love speed every time and in all situations,” he says, adding that he has never compared his downhill speed on a bike versus on skis. “I’m used to being fast on a bike and by car, but never as fast as on my beloved skis.”
Casse has already circled the 2026 Maratona on his calendar for next July. In the meantime, he’ll try to defend his super-G title in Val Gardena and prepare for his first Olympics – on home snow, no less – this February. Still, he prefers to take things one day at a time.
“I’m not waiting for something in particular,” he says. “It will be a process made of many days, many races and results. I will live the opportunities and show myself what I will be able to catch.”
About the Author: Shauna Farnell
