← All eventsRocky Mountain Marathon (Riva del Garda)
Climb-dense MTB marathon over the mountains above Lake Garda, the flagship XC-marathon of the huge Bike Festival Garda. Distance/elevation and date are approximate estimates.
The descents are the point. Riva del Garda's flagship MTB marathon climbs hard away from the lake, then throws you down famous Garda singletrack on rock and root, the water dramatically below.
Around 60km and 2,350m of climbing over the mountains above the northern shore. It's the headline XC-marathon of the huge Bike Festival Garda, late April.
Fitness alone won't save you. The steep sustained climbs shell riders who can't climb, and the technical descents lose big time for anyone who can't handle rock. You need both.
Is Rocky Mountain Marathon (Riva del Garda) for you?
- Riders who can descend real rock and root, not just flow trails. Garda's natural technical singletrack decides huge chunks of time here.
- Climbers who meter their effort. The course stacks repeated sustained ascents, so racing the first one leaves nothing for the rest.
- Anyone with grip and upper-body durability. Handling rocky descents on tired arms late in the day is the real test of this course.
- Riders comfortable on a capable bike. A down-country full-suspension with a dropper suits Garda far better than an XC hardtail.
Training plan for Rocky Mountain Marathon (Riva del Garda)
A training plan for Rocky Mountain Marathon (Riva del Garda) isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Big sustained climbs on fire road and track, away from the lake and back to back
- Long, genuinely technical descents on Garda rock and root, consequential and lake-exposed
- Two systems fatigue: legs on the climbs, arms and grip on the rocky descents
- A warm, exposed course in late-April Garda sun, so fuelling and drinking matter
- Sustained Climb Reps: 3-4 x 15-20min at 85-92% FTP for repeatable long-climb power
- Rocky/Rooty-Trail Skills: 60-120min on natural rock and root descents, every week
- Skills Under Fatigue: 30-45min descending after a 2hr climbing ride, your race-day state
- Long Climb-and-Descend Ride: building to 3.5-4hr with 1,800m+ and technical descents
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
