Val di Sole

Val di Sole

The Val di Sole, in Trentino, Italy, is the upper valley of the Noce and one of the best-known venues in mountain biking. The bike park at Daolasa has hosted the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships four times, in 2008, 2016, 2021 and 2026, and its Black Snake downhill is one of the hardest in the world. Road riders have more than 40 km of paved cycle paths, the main one along the river.

This ride starts at Pellizzano and follows the Noce down the valley past Daolasa and Dimaro to Castel Caldes, a tower house built in 1230–35 that the Thun family owned from 1464. At the Mostizzolo bridge the road leaves the Val di Sole for the Val di Non. Past Cles it crosses the gorge beside the Santa Giustina dam, which at 152 m was the highest in Europe when it opened in 1951. The ride ends just beyond it.