Three loops on the tratturi, from Petacciato back to Petacciato. And a new branch, Il Braccio, up into the high country where the transhumance began. This page holds everything we can confirm today. The rest comes by 31 March, and it will be added here.
Molise Trail is a bike journey on the tratturi, the old droving routes of the transhumance. Three tracks leave Petacciato and come back to it, self-supported.
The three tracks cross in the same villages: at night you stop wherever you like, at a base camp or in a hotel, B&B or farm stay, and in the morning you choose again. Ride the Long one day, the Medium the next, the Short after that.
Nothing to declare at the start. No ranking, no clock, no time gates along the way.
On the tratturi, a braccio is the narrower track that joins one tratturo to another, so the flocks could cross between them. Ours does the same.
It leaves the Long at Pietrabbondante, loops right round the high country and rejoins the Long where it left it. The flocks spent the summer on these pastures; in autumn they walked down to Puglia on the same tratturi the Long already follows. Il Braccio goes to meet them where they set out.
The loops cross each other. Start on the Short or the Medium, reach Torella, where all three pass, pick up the Long to Pietrabbondante, and decide there whether to climb. Skip it and you lose nothing: every loop stays whole.
Distance, climbing and nights for Il Braccio come with part II of the rules, by 31 March 2027. We want them right first.
A tratturo stays open as long as someone rides it. That is what Molise Trail is for.
The 2027 tracks start from the 2026 ones and reopen more stretches of tratturo and more villages, so that each year less tarmac is needed to stitch them together. Final tracks come with part II of the rules.
| Track | Distance | Climbing |
|---|---|---|
| The Short | ~200 km | ~4.500 m |
| The Medium | ~300 km | ~6.000 m |
| The Long | ~400 km | ~8.000 m |
| Il Braccio | from any loop · figures by 31 March | |
2026 figures, rounded: the 2027 ones come with the tracks.
The tratturo is not a continuous trail: it is a broken network, ploughed, built over, lost in the fields. Tarmac is what stitches it back together. A gravel bike is enough; you don’t need an MTB.
E-bikes are allowed. The limit is the battery: there is power at the base camps, and bars along the way will let you charge.
It is not a race. Riders here are 48 on average and read a climbing profile better than we do.
At night you stop wherever you prefer: a hotel, a B&B, a farm stay in the village, or a base camp. Many mix them. Nobody asks where you slept, and the track stays the same.
Hotels, B&Bs and farm stays you choose and book yourself, directly: they are the places in the villages you ride through.
They are an extra convenience, not a requirement: village gyms and halls with hot showers and power. You bring your own mat and sleeping bag. At the Village in Petacciato there is a covered marquee and a fenced area for bikes and for anyone who prefers their own tent.
Services and the jersey open in June 2027. Breakfast is paid on site. On the track you are self-supported.
In 2026 the base camps were Sant’Elia a Pianisi, Pietracatella, Torella del Sannio and Frosolone. The 2027 ones come with part II of the rules.
Start and return times come with part II of the rules.
Prices only go up and there are no discount codes. There is no cap on riders: the limit is the places in the services.
The binding list is article 10 of the rules.
Until 29 September 2027 you can transfer your place to someone else, or defer it once to the following edition: 15 € either way. Withdrawing gives no refund.
Residents in Italy need either a competitive cycling certificate or the certificate for sport of high cardiovascular demand, the one with an ECG.
Riders living abroad use the organisation’s “Health Certificate” form, issued no earlier than 2 November 2026. In every case it must be valid beyond 2 November 2027, and it is uploaded from your account by 29 September 2027.
When they are out, this page is updated. The link stays the same.
At the Royal Customs House in Foggia, shepherds declared their flocks and secured their pastures before the season. 2027 opens the same way: in November, right after the 2026 edition.
Wednesday 4 November at 8 pm for people on the list, Thursday 5 at 8 pm for everyone, until Monday 16 November. 69 €, membership included. Leave your email and get the link a day early.
