Andreas Tonelli, a mountain biker recognized for his vertigo-inducing mountain biking videos, died in a fall on July 15 at the age of 48. He was riding alone in the Dolomites, in Italy’s South Tyrol region, when he reportedly fell 200m on a steep trail.
According to Italian media, concern arose when Tonelli failed to return from his ride by 9 pm. Earlier that evening, around 7:15 pm, he posted a now-deleted Instagram story showing that he had reached the 2,905m summit of Piz Duleda in the Puez-Odle Nature Park.
A friend alerted authorities, prompting a search effort. A helicopter then continued searching until around 1 am, when they found Tonelli’s body in a ravine.
Social media hit
Tonelli’s final post on Instagram two days before his death shows a point-of-view video of him descending a narrow trail with a steep drop to the right. In the caption, he noted it was Day 2 of a four-day Dolomites Enduro Traverse with Norrona Adventure.
On his sponsor Norrona’s website, it states that Tonelli mainly lived in the Dolomites and that he quit his “boring office job to become a full-time bike guide and organizer of sport trips around the world.”
Many of Tonelli’s Instagram videos were very popular due to the highly exposed, “no fall” terrain he was able to cover on a bike.
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In one pinned post, Tonelli is seen climbing a Via Ferrata route with his bike strapped to his back. Part of his caption reads, “No matter how crazy your goals are, always remember to give everything to pursue your dreams!”
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The highest bikeable mountain
Last January, Tonelli and fellow rider Giovanni Mattielo made a bike ascent and descent of Argentina’s Cerro Mercedario. At 6,670m, it’s the eighth-highest in the Andes. The trailer of their yet-to-be-released film describes Cerro Mercedario as “the world’s highest rideable peak,” but it is not clear how much of it they were able to ride or if there are other bikeable peaks of a similar altitude elsewhere.
