Biking
Extreme sports icon Andreas Tonelli—a 48-year-old mountain biker and adventure sports guide from South Tyrol, Italy—has died after falling around 200 meters (656 feet) during a solo outing in Vallelunga, near Gröden/Val Gardena, Italy. Tonelli, who had amassed over 120,000 followers on social media through his high-altitude cycling and mountaineering content, was reported missing on Tuesday evening, July 15, when he failed to return from a ride.
Tonelli had set out for a ride in the late afternoon, and the alarm was raised shortly after 9:00 p.m. when the cyclist failed to return. His last Instagram story was posted at 7:15 p.m. that evening, showing him finishing an ascent to 2,905 meters (9,531 feet) on Piz Duleda, smiling, his bike slung over his shoulder. However, when his friend could not reach Tonelli, he started searching for him. Ultimately, authorities were alerted and Alpine rescue and the Aiut Alpin helicopter patrolled the area until late at night and found Tonelli’s lifeless body around 1:00 a.m. The famous mountain biking influencer had fallen down a ravine into an area that was impossible to reach for rescuers in the middle of the night. By daybreak on Wednesday, July 16, search and rescue managed to retrieve his body with the help of a helicopter.
Raised in the German-speaking province of South Tyrol (Alto Adige), Tonelli was well known in the alpine community for his daring cycling and mountaineering feats, including a bicycle ascent of the 6,893-meter (22,615-foot) Nevado Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile and a climb of the 6,570-meter (21,555 foot) Tupungato volcano in central Chile.
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Tonelli left an office job to follow his passion full-time, working as a cycling guide and sports travel organiser around the world. He joined the Norrøna ambassador team in 2023, promoting a lifestyle grounded in sustainability and environmental awareness. He lived in an eco-friendly wooden house, travelled consciously, ate local food, and consumed little meat. Beyond mountain biking, he had a deep love for splitboarding—a snowboard that splits into skis for uphill travel and reassembles for descent. For Tonelli, the Dolomites and Norway’s Lofoten Islands were cherished landscapes. “Travel extensively as a way of learning,” he advised in a past interview. His death marks a significant loss for the outdoor adventure community he helped inspire.
