The Alpirod was the premier dog sled race in Southern Europe, run over approximately 1,000 km.

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Its name comes from a combination of the Alps, where the race took place, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, on which the race was based. The race consisted of 14 days of racing in 11 cities in four countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, and France.

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The race consisted of multiple short races, separated by evening breaks, similar to cycling in the Tour de France. At the time, it was the largest dog sled race outside of North America and was first organized by Armen Khatchikian, an Italian Iditarod competitor who hoped to bring some of the breed to Europe.

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The first edition took place in 1988, and the inaugural race was won by Alaskan Joe Runyan. In 1989 the race was won by Kathy Swenson who was the first woman to win it.

In 1990, Alaskan Roxy Wright Champaine won the race, becoming the third American winner. In 1992 the race was won by Nenana, musher Jacques Filippo, who won the race three times.

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Despite his initial success, he soon ran into difficulties. Raising funds and sponsorships for the race proved difficult and a period of snow also made organizing the race even more difficult. In addition, the limited popularity of the sport and the race itself with the considerable distance of North American Mushing led to a crippling of participation, as did the cost of around £10,000 to fly a team of dogs from Alaska to Italy. These factors caused the course to be shortened to about 700 kilometers in the early 1990s and then to less than 500 kilometers for the 1994 edition. Before the 1996 edition, the race's main sponsor, dog food manufacturer Royal Canin, stopped supporting the event and organizers had to announce its cancellation.

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Alpirod was a pioneer in the use of microchips to identify dogs several years before the Yukon Quest and Iditarod made it mandatory.