Classic Garmisch - Lake Garda

From the Zugspitz village of Grainau, we cycle via Elmau Castle, which has become world famous thanks to the G7 summit, and the picturesquely situated Ferchensee lake to Mittenwald. On the banks of the Isar, which here still has the state of a wild river, we reach Tyrol and the Leutasch valley. A long steady climb leads almost 30 kilometers and about 750 meters of altitude through the Leutasch valley and the picturesque Gaistal to the Ehrwalder Alm. Numerous huts and alpine pastures invite you to take a break. The descent to Ehrwald is steep and short, but asphalted. With glowing brakes, we roll onto the Via Claudia bike route in the Ehrwald basin and cross the Fernpass on the old Roman path. Through beautiful forests with fragrant pines we reach the Gurgltal and reach our comfortable stage destination near Imst with a view of the Ötztal Alps.

King stage. Today we cross the main ridge of the Alps and enter South Tyrol. After crossing the Inn River, the climb through the Ötztal Valley begins, past Sölden to Hochgurgl, where the toll booth is located. The route through the valley runs off the road on varied cycling, forest and farm tracks. From Obergurgl we finally follow the pass road of the Timmelsjoch. Time to rest and enjoy. At the 2474 meter high pass summit we have managed 2300 meters of altitude of our daily target. The high alpine landscape fascinates every year thousands of racing cyclists on the Ötztaler Radmarathon. A wonderfully long descent rewards first with numerous hairpin bends of the pass road and finally great developed cycle paths off the roads through the orchards along the Passer to the alpine-Mediterranean Merano. The small alpine metropolis is world-famous and lets South Tyrolean traditions merge with the Italian Dolce Vita. We should definitely not miss this during an evening tour of the lively city center.

After two sporty days in the saddle, we can take it easy today. We leave Merano in the direction of Hafling. In front of the impressive mountain scenery of the Texelgruppe we take a last look at Merano before we dive into the wonderful alpine landscape high above the Etschtal. A varied mix of bike paths, small side roads and forest trails leads us to picturesquely situated huts and offers panoramic views as far as the Dolomites and the main Alpine ridge with its glaciers shimmering white. At the Leadner Alm we have earned a proper break after 1400 meters of altitude and enjoy the view. After passing through lively Bolzano, we find ourselves on the South Tyrolean Wine Road. We should definitely stop for a swim at the fantastically situated Kalterer See lake. We will spend the night in one of the famous wine villages of the region.

The final stage begins with a 25-kilometer flat warm-up to Mezzocorona. There begins the panoramic road with about 950 meters of ascent to Fai della Paganella and on to Andalo at the foot of the Brenta Dolomites. A gorgeous gravel route takes us along exciting back roads to Lago di Molveno, whose deep blue waters reflect the craggy cliffs of the Brenta. It remains dramatically beautiful. An old road takes us to Ranzo, where along a mountain road spectacularly blasted into the rock we have impressive views of the deep Limaro Gorge, the Sarca Valley and the Valle dei Laghi. In the valley lie picturesque lakes and in the background tower enormous limestone cliffs. These also characterize the last kilometers - but now from the frog's perspective - through the Sarca Valley to Lake Garda, where we seal our gravel tour with a jump into the cool waters.