On 13 July 2024, Arabba hosted the inaugural High Altitude World Championships, a self-supported event where riders climbed more than 5,500 meters across eight cols, each over 2,000 meters. Only the climb times counted towards the total time, and each rider had twelve hours to complete the route.
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For passionate col-hunters, the route featured many bucket-list climbs. The event began with a climb to Passo Pordoi, setting off from Arabba on a tranquil morning. In classic Sella Ronda style, riders continued over Passo Sella and Passo Gardena before diverting to Passo Valparola.
A seemingly fast-paced race changed character as riders descended from Passo Falzarego, climbed up to a busy Passo Giau, and then returned to Falzarego. From there, riders enjoyed a well-earned rest down to Rocca Pietore before tackling the penultimate climb, Passo Fedaia, known for its brutal upper sections with gradients over 15%. The final climb was Passo Pordoi once again, but this time from Canazei.
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Twelve riders signed up for the first-ever HAWC, and four completed the course within the 12-hour time limit.
Nineteen-year-old Francesco Frezzato from Italy took an early lead, building a 20-minute advantage by the third summit, Passo Gardena. He maintained his lead and won the prestigious gold-striped HAWC jersey by a margin of 2 hours and 22 minutes ahead of fellow Italian Giovanni Mirabelli. Dirk Tenten from the Netherlands secured third place, finishing approximately 30 minutes before the cutoff.
Yvonne Rees became the first female winner, showcasing impressive consistency by maintaining a steady tempo on all climbs. Her total climb time of just under 8 hours would have earned her third place in the menโs event.
To put Frezzatoโs performance into perspective, he took the daily Strava KOMs on all eight climbs.
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Finishers / Total Climb Time
๐ Yvonne Rees (UK) โ Female Winner / 07:59:04
๐ Francesco Frezzato (IT) โ Male Winner / 04:32:51
๐ฅ Giovanni Mirabelli (IT) / 06:55:00
๐ฅ Dirk Tenten (NL) / 08:36:39
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Male winner Francesco Frezzato expressed his pride: โThis race was my main goal for the season. I really enjoyed it today.โ Regarding the format, he added, โI have never seen an event like this. The self-supported element is cool. It has so much potential. I look forward to next year.โ
Female winner Yvonne Rees commented on the raceโs difficulty, comparing it to the extended version of La Marmotte 2023, โIt was the hardest race ever. Iโm never doing Fedaia again.โ
Giovanni Mirabelli praised the route, saying, โIt was a truly beautiful and tough route. Adding Fedaia was the right choice. Thanks for arranging such a great event.โ
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The HAWC25 route will be announced in late October.
