The race
The 24-hour Montello Mauro Marcato Memorial takes place with Ultracycling regulations in the splendid surroundings of the Montello hills, already the stage for the World Road Cycling Championship, which took place just recently. Montello is a red clay hill that rises, isolated and well-defined, just over 300 meters above sea level to the south of the current course of the Piave River. The hill has a dome shape and overall dimensions of 13 km by 5 km, and the highest point is the Collesal Val dell’Acqua, where the Santa Maria della Vittoria Church stands (371 meters above sea level).
Wooded and not very populated, Montello is completely surrounded by very lively and densely inhabited towns. The race goes through the municipal territories of Crocetta del Montello, Giavera del Montello, Montebelluna, Nervesa della Battaglia and Volpago del Montello, for which Montello is the green lungs. The most characteristic historical feature of this territory is the “prese”, little roads that longitudinally cross the hill. They are the result of forest control in the territory, set up by the Venetian Republic back in the 1400’s and the final division of lots at the end of the 1800’s. Remaking this old subdivision, the hill is crossed by 21 access roads – the so-called “prese” -, which run from north to south, and a back road, which connects all the “prese” and crosses it from east to west. The course is a lot of fun and varies from both the cycling and landscape points of view, but its difficulty should not be underestimated, which increases above all with the number of laps. The logistics base of the race will be set up at the starting and finishing point (Santa Maria della Vittoria). Here the cyclists can get supplies and technical assistance. Three electronic control points to record the athletes passing will be set up, with a sensor on the front fork of the bikes: one at the starting and finishing point; one just before taking the Panoramica (east of Montello), after about 6 km from the starting line; one at the beginning of the Dorsale climb, just after Nervesa della Battaglia and the Ossario climb. The race is on open roads but there is never a lot of traffic, above all on the weekends. The main crossroads will be watched over 24 hours a day by the organization’s personnel, in order to give support and further safety measures, in addition to the participants’ common sense.
Wooded and not very populated, Montello is completely surrounded by very lively and densely inhabited towns. The race goes through the municipal territories of Crocetta del Montello, Giavera del Montello, Montebelluna, Nervesa della Battaglia and Volpago del Montello, for which Montello is the green lungs. The most characteristic historical feature of this territory is the “prese”, little roads that longitudinally cross the hill. They are the result of forest control in the territory, set up by the Venetian Republic back in the 1400’s and the final division of lots at the end of the 1800’s. Remaking this old subdivision, the hill is crossed by 21 access roads – the so-called “prese” -, which run from north to south, and a back road, which connects all the “prese” and crosses it from east to west. The course is a lot of fun and varies from both the cycling and landscape points of view, but its difficulty should not be underestimated, which increases above all with the number of laps. The logistics base of the race will be set up at the starting and finishing point (Santa Maria della Vittoria). Here the cyclists can get supplies and technical assistance. Three electronic control points to record the athletes passing will be set up, with a sensor on the front fork of the bikes: one at the starting and finishing point; one just before taking the Panoramica (east of Montello), after about 6 km from the starting line; one at the beginning of the Dorsale climb, just after Nervesa della Battaglia and the Ossario climb. The race is on open roads but there is never a lot of traffic, above all on the weekends. The main crossroads will be watched over 24 hours a day by the organization’s personnel, in order to give support and further safety measures, in addition to the participants’ common sense.
