May 9th sees the 2010 running of the Mount Etna Marathon – at 3,300m the highest active volcano in Europe – and they reckon that it’ll be perfect for British mountain bikers after an early season jolt. What could be better than a 10km singletrack descent to the finish?
In 2010 riders will once again have the chance to take on the challenge of the highest active volcano in Europe – Mount Etna, in Sicily. As in 2009, MTB racers from all over Europe will set off from piazza Belvedere in Milo (Catania) and attempt to master the ‘unbeatable’ volcanic Mountain.
The Marathon course has changed slightly this year, with a clockwise direction course. However the distance, level of technical difficulty and the thrilling final 10km-long singletrack descent will still be the same and of course there will still be the same uniquely spectacular scenery of Mount Etna.
The races:
63km-long marathon with 1750m of vertical ascent, the shorter 28km-long excursionist route with 800m of vertical ascent.
Flight info:
Catania Airport (40 mins drive from Milo) Both British Airways and Air Malta operate daily flights from London Gatwick. AerLingus flies from Dublin on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Palermo airport (3 hours drive) Ryanair flies from Stansted on a daily basis.
Trapani airport (4 hours drive) Ryanair flies from Dublin on a Wednesday and Sunday.
Watch some of last year’s race:
Etna Marathon 09
More info on the team website:
Mongibello Etna Marathon website
http://www.mongibelloteam.com/html/modules/content/index.php?id=44&sel_lang=english
Contact:
info@mongibelloteam.com
Comments (6)
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Wasn’t Pompeii burried by an eruption of Mt Vesuvius…
Oh yes, that’s the one… Editing now. That’s the trouble of writing before coffee, I find 🙂
That’s better…;-)
I’ve had two large coffees now too!
Blimey, how wide are Italian fireroads? Even I could get down a singletrack that wide at that sort of speed.
Looks like fun though.
There’s apparently a singletrack run from near the top of the volcano to the seashore (was covered in another mag a couple of years back) that looks amazing fun (without the climbing this entails).