The second stage is with 124 kilometres and more than 3000 metres of altitude a highlight not only from a sportive perspective. The route from San Vigil to San Martino di Castrozza is running "through the heart of the Dolomites and underlines why they are a Unesco World Natural Heritage Site," says course manager Marc Schneider. "Here it's worth to leave the road bike aside for once and take off to the mountains on a mountain bike or with hiking shoes."

At the beginning the route leads through the Val Badia in the middle of two impressive natural parks. On the one hand, the Puez-Geisler Nature Park, also known as the "Dolomite construction hut" - geologists find all the rock types, depositional layers and weathering forms typical of the Dolomites there. On the other hand, the Fanes-Sennes-Prags with its wide spruce forests in the middle of the Pragser Dolomites and the Fanes Group. At Passo Falzarego, a cable car leads up to Lagazuoi, perhaps the most beautiful viewpoint of the Dolomites accessible by cable car - and also one of the most historic places, that was hard fought over during the First World War and is hollowed out with tunnels like a Swiss cheese. Also the history of Lago di Alleghe, which the second stage passes, is also interesting: The lake was formed in 1771 by a massive landslide. It is one of the most famous sites in the Bellunese Dolomites.

The "wall of the walls"

The village of the same name, Alleghe, also has a lot to offer. It is not only a stage of the Giro d'Italia each year, but also attracts mountain lovers and climbers. One attraction is the "Parete delle pareti", (wall of walls). The famous northern flank of Monte Civetta is one of the largest vertical surfaces in the Dolomites.

You want to know what to expect from the sportive aspect of stage 2? https://tour-transalp.de/en/route/stage-2/