Bikepacking Ultra Racing 2025
Greetings Bikepackers and best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Twenty five years into this new century and bikepacking racing has grown exponentially since John Stamstead did his solo, unsupported ITT down the US Great Divide route in 2004. His 18d:23h time literally launched the concept of bikepacking racing over a set course. The US Tour Divide event as it is now known has since become the unquestioned premier bikepacking race in the world annually attracting over 200 riders from all corners of the globe.
Here in Australia it’s slim pickings. Only a handful of events on our annual race calendar, typically with 20-30 starters while our Kiwi cousins mostly stay at home but turn up in their hundreds at the smell of an overheating brake pad to ride their local events. Europe now has a mind boggling number of races … road and off-road with plenty charging anything from Au$300-$750 for the punishment.
For 2025 my Breathtaking Events will remain largely unchanged. KISS! No sponsorship, no prizes maybe some glory from your partners and/or kids. The fundamentals are to meet the challenge, enjoy the unfolding landscape and terrain revealed by your gps and embrace the adventure!
Registration for all of the following events open on January 1. More details on the rules and general information can be found on the Breathtaking Events website pages. For those new to Bikepacking … ask questions. My contacts are on the website or seek wider commentary on the Bikepacking Ultra Racing Australia Facebook page.
CLOUDRIDE PROLOGUE 500k
8:00am Saturday 8 March
Again another mystery route awaits. It has some common roads from the Cloudride1000, some Terra Australis and some from past Prologues. To narrow it down further, in no particular order … Bungendore, Collector, Braidwood, Gundaroo, Nerriga, Tarago might fit your resupply in business hours. It’s looking like 510k and a tick over 7,000Vm. Surface, mostly groomed. 33% paved, 66% unpaved, 1% water. START/FINISH will be BentSpoke Brewing Co. in Braddon. BYO legs.
MONARO CLOUDRIDE 1000k
6:00am Friday 18 April [Easter Weekend]
Now in it’s second decade… an amazing diverse route through giant eucalypt forest, dripping rainforest ferns open Monaro rolling hills then up into challenging Australian Alpine National Parks before returning to your starting point in Canberra. It’s clockwise for 2025 and will feature some route changes from recent years with the reopening of Cabramurra Bistro [Australia’s highest PostCode] providing a welcome resupply option between Jindabyne and Batlow/Tumut.
TERRA AUSTRALIS BIKE EPIC 6,250k
6:00am Thursday 1 May
If you haven’t been paying attention Terra Australis is going north bound for 2025. The traditional 1 September south bound start date can still be in play if there’s interest out there. These start date windows are constrained by the Australian Alps snow season and in the north the tropical Queensland wet season.
For the moment the new May 1 start date has attracted some strong interest from riders with the promise of following seasonal trade winds up the east coast and through into Queensland and the potential to acclimatise to the heat in Nth Q as riders progress up into the tropics.
I received an eMail from the inaugural Terra Australis winner Steve Halligan a few months back ...
"Every year I follow the Terra Australis closely, I zoom into sections and I'm just filled with amazing memories and just wishing I was there sweating and covered in red dirt having the adventure of a lifetime. I really hope Sandro can get to the finish line this year!
I've always said I want to do it again, and I will."
The call for EOI’s has resulted in thirteen riders who now have the full revised northbound route and support notes. For anyone still on the fence there is still plenty of time to prep and train for a May 1 start. It’s just riding your bike every day with a sense of determination, some physical fortitude, a large dose of adventure …. and be mildly delusional.