Twice a year something happens in the Dolomites that never happens otherwise: the four passes around the Sella close to cars, and only bicycles are left. The second date in 2026 is Saturday 12 September.
It is not a race, you do not register and you do not pay. You turn up and you ride. It is also a day with a precise set of regulations, and inside those regulations there are three things the pages that write about it do not pass on.
Here is how it actually works, for those riding and for those who meant to drive up that day.
When it closes, and for how long
The official regulations for the 12 September 2026 edition give 9 to 16. Within that window the four stretches are closed to private traffic: Selva towards the Sella and Gardena passes on the SS 242, Corvara towards Gardena and Campolongo, Arabba towards Pordoi and Campolongo, Canazei towards Sella and Pordoi.
An honest note on the time: two tourist board pages give 8.30 instead. We publish 9 because that is what the dated 2026 regulations say, whereas the pages giving 8.30 are undated promotional pages. If you are coming by bike and want to be sure the road is already closed, plan for 9.
The 16.00 reopening is not guaranteed. The regulations provide for the traffic police to postpone it if there are still many cyclists on the road. Anyone planning to set off by car at 16.01 should allow for a wait.
- 12 September 2026, from 9 to 16
- Sella pass 2,244 m, Pordoi 2,239 m, Gardena 2,136 m, Campolongo 1,875 m
- All four sides close: Gardena, Badia, Livinallongo, Fassa
- The 16.00 reopening can slip if cyclists are still out
The detail nobody passes on: Selva reopens at 10
On the route page of the official website, in the middle of the list of closed stretches, there is a line that appears on no tourist board page: the stretch from Piazza Nives to Plan, inside Selva, reopens at 10.
That is six hours before everything else, and it is the only time exception in the whole closure. In practice it affects precisely the people starting there, because Piazza Nives is one of the four official start points: after 10 there are cars on it again.
If you are starting in Selva, leave before 10 or expect it.
The loop: 53 kilometres, but the climbing depends on where you start
The official website gives 53 kilometres and 1,650 metres of climbing. That figure holds from Corvara or Arabba, though: from Selva it becomes 1,936 metres, from Canazei 2,030. The loop is the same, what changes is how much of it goes uphill before the ring closes.
Anticlockwise is recommended, and here is the second thing worth knowing: recommended is not compulsory. The regulations impose no direction, and with fifteen to twenty thousand people on closed roads that means you will meet cyclists coming both ways on the Pordoi and Sella descents. One of the tourist boards says so explicitly and advises keeping right at all times, because not everybody follows the direction.
Anyone expecting an orderly one-way flow is mistaken, and on the descents, at those speeds, it makes a difference.
It is a hundred per cent asphalt, an estimated six hours depending on how often you stop: it is a day out, not a performance.
- 53 km and 1,650 m of climbing from Corvara or Arabba
- From Selva: 1,936 m. From Canazei: 2,030 m
- Anticlockwise recommended, not compulsory
- Four start points: Piazza Nives in Selva, the Boè lift in Corvara, the Campolongo junction in Arabba, Strèda Dolomites in Canazei
- Three technical service points: Bivio Miramonti, Arabba, Corvara
Free, no registration, no timing
There is nothing to sign up for, there is no race number, you pay nothing, and there are no races, classifications or official times. All four valleys say so on their pages. There is not even a compulsory start point: the four named ones are the organised places, not gates.
On helmets the sources do not agree. The official regulations are cautious and say the organisers provide for their use on safety grounds, given the road and the speeds reached. One tourist board writes instead that they are compulsory. Since there is no registration and no declared checks, the difference is theoretical: put one on.
E-bikes, e-MTBs, tandems and vintage bicycles are all admitted. Claims about charging points along the route circulate that we could not trace to any official source, so we are not passing them on: bars and huts on the passes often have a socket, but it is not a declared service.
And if you meant to drive up that day
Between 9 and 16 only emergency, safety and organisation vehicles go through. The regulations provide for no exemptions for residents and name none: we found no source confirming them or formally ruling them out, so anyone living there is better off asking their own municipality.
The third point almost nobody passes on concerns the buses, and it ruins the most days. The service to the Dolomite passes is suspended all day, not only during the closure window: anyone planning to ride up and take the bus down, or to walk up to a pass early in the morning, has no public transport that day. The only line for which a resumption after 16 is declared is the one between Canazei and the Fedaia pass, which is not even one of the four passes on the loop.
If your plan was to drive the passes: our piece on the four-pass loop by car holds for every other day. Not on 12 September.
What we are trying to measure, and what we already missed
The Sella pass holds the only car park of the four with a public sensor publishing free spaces, and we have kept its hourly series since 1 June. In August that car park was completely full on 21 days out of 23, on average at 7.34 in the morning.
On 12 September not one car will stand there for seven hours. It is the perfect edge case, and we are recording it.
One admission, because it seems right to make it: we missed the first 2026 edition, the one on 6 June. That day the Sella pass sensor was stuck reporting nominal capacity for twenty-four hours, as it was on many days in early June. We noticed weeks later, while fixing the plausibility check, and we wrote about it in the piece on the Dolomites in September. The day the reading would have been most interesting is also the day we did not have it.
How we keep these measurements, and what happens when a reading does not hold, is on the page about the data we check.
Not to be confused with two other things
The Sellaronda Bike Day is not the HERO Südtirol Dolomites, a mountain bike race with a capped field, starting in Selva, on courses up to 86 kilometres and 4,500 metres of climbing. In 2026 it was run on 13 June, a week after the first Bike Day date: online you will read that the two take place on consecutive days, and for this year that is not true.
And it is not the Sellaronda MTB Tour, which is not a date but a permanent route around the Sella, open all summer, which uses the lifts to take care of the climbing.
The Bike Day is one thing only: two Saturdays a year when four state and provincial roads become a cycle path.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Sellaronda Bike Day 2026?
The second date in 2026 is Saturday 12 September, from 9 to 16. The first was on 6 June. Within that window the Sella, Gardena, Pordoi and Campolongo passes are closed to private traffic.
Do you have to register for the Sellaronda Bike Day?
No. There is no registration and no race number, taking part is free, and there are no races, classifications or official times. The start point is not compulsory either: the four named ones are the organised places, not gates.
How long is the loop and how much climbing does it have?
The official website gives 53 kilometres and 1,650 metres of climbing, valid from Corvara or Arabba. From Selva it becomes 1,936 metres, from Canazei 2,030: the loop is the same, what changes is how much of it is uphill.
Which direction do you ride?
Anticlockwise is recommended but not compulsory: the regulations impose no direction. In practice you will meet cyclists coming both ways on the Pordoi and Sella descents, and one of the tourist boards explicitly advises keeping right at all times.
Do the buses run during the Sellaronda Bike Day?
No. The service to the Dolomite passes is suspended all day, not only during the 9 to 16 window. The only line for which a resumption after 16 is declared is the one between Canazei and the Fedaia pass, which is not one of the four passes on the loop.
Can you drive up to the passes on the Bike Day?
Not between 9 and 16: only emergency, safety and organisation vehicles go through. The regulations provide for no exemptions for residents and name none: anyone living there is better off asking their own municipality.
Are e-bikes allowed?
Yes, along with e-MTBs, tandems and vintage bicycles. On charging points along the route we found no official source, so we are not passing the claim on: bars and huts on the passes often have a socket, but it is not a declared service.
Is the Sellaronda Bike Day the same as the HERO?
No. The HERO Südtirol Dolomites is a mountain bike race with a capped field on courses up to 86 kilometres and 4,500 metres of climbing, run on 13 June in 2026. The Bike Day is open, free and not raced.