Anyone who deals with bicycle racing and/or extreme sports will sooner or later stumble upon the term “Ultracycling.” But what exactly is Ultracycling?
If you run more than the usual marathon distance, it’s called Ultra-Running. If you add more distance to the set triathlon distances, it’s an Ultra-Triathlon. So, when you do Ultra-Cycling, do you simply ride more than… well, what? The major cycling races are not defined by distance, for example, the route of the Tour de France changes slightly every year. Therefore, there is no fixed definition for Ultracycling.
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Many athletes understand Ultracycling simply as more cycling. Further than normal day races. Longer than common stage races. More elevation gain than regular mountain rides. Or more hours in the saddle than a person is normally awake at a stretch. |
“More” describes Ultracycling quite well – it’s essentially about finding out how much strain a human body can endure. Because often, in addition to truly gigantic distances, the Non-Stop Rule is considered a distinguishing feature between cycling races and Ultracycling (but not always, and you’ll find out what Non-Stop means in a moment).
Are races like the Tour de France not Ultracycling?
More cycling than what usually comes to a normal person’s mind… that actually applies to many cycling races. Aren’t the major multi-stage races and Ultracycling the same then?
In fact, these races don’t differ much while the riders are on the bike. Then it’s pedal, pedal, pedal… But there are two crucial differences:
- In stage races riding is done during the day, the clock stops in the evening and only starts again at the next start. In Ultracycling, time is usually measured non-stop. This leads to extreme sleep deprivation, more on that below.
- Moreover, the organization around it is a completely different matter. While in the world-famous races, a lot of support awaits the cycling pros, Ultracycling challenges are often organized in some form, but on the road, they are mostly self-supported. This means: No team vehicle with a chief mechanic, spare parts, or even whole spare bikes in tow. No drink stations. No pasta party before the start. No massages for the knotted calves. Self-sufficiency is the order of the day.
Non-Stop Ultra-Cycling
Many races in Ultracycling are run according to the Non-Stop Principle because there are no daily sections after reaching which the riders could take a breather. The clock runs continuously from the start to the finish, and often for days! This leads to athletes often allowing themselves only one to two hours of sleep before getting back in the saddle. Non-stop makes even relatively short distances or times like 500km or 32 hours a real hell ride.
These ultracycling events not only demand outstanding fitness, but they also require experience, honest self-assessment, and good planning. Especially when the ride self-supported is, finding comfortable sleeping places along the way can be difficult, so these events really push the riders to the limits of their endurance!
Ultracycling with Timekeeping or Time Limit
Do you need to pull out the stopwatch for ultracycling? It depends... Image © Veri Ivanova on Unsplash
Regarding the use of a stopwatch, there are three variants in ultracycling:
Ultracycling can certainly take on a racing character with timekeeping, award ceremonies, and all the trimmings. In some races, you are challenged to compete against yourself, to mobilize the last bit of energy, and to beat your personal best times. In other races, you compete head-to-head against other participants.
Especially on longer rides, there is no timekeeping in the actual sense. When in Ultra Distance Cycling thousands of kilometers are to be conquered, there is often no timekeeping, but there is a time limit in which participants should have reached the finish. There is then no winner, but a lot of “finishers”.
Option number three: If you set off on your own to cover a particularly large distance, you can of course determine your own time frame.
Ultracycling is usually self-supported
If an ultracycling bike race is aimed at self-supporters , there is no assistance from the organizer. Riders are completely responsible for food, water supplies, luggage, and bike repairs. Depending on what the organizers prescribe, outside help is either completely forbidden or at least self-organized. This not only tests athletic ambition but also organizational talent, self-sufficiency, and independence.
Often, luggage transport is also self-managed, so the bike is loaded in the best bikepacking manner wherever possible. If no time limit is given, ultra-cycling can even take place with a cargo bike or luggage trailer!
Ultra Endurance Cycling
You will most frequently find two types of ultra cycling races, some span an ultra-long distance, while others last ultra-long. In both cases, endurance is put to a tough test.
Ultra Endurance Cycling by Distance
500km on a bicycle is already a lot for a normally athletic person. How do 3000, 5000, or even 10,000km sound? Such ultra-long challenges are considered as Ultra Distance Cycling. Here you simply have to endure and endurance (English: “endurance”) is required.
But let's start small – even distances of 500km can be ultracycling and really test your endurance. We're talking about 500km in one go and without a break, so non-stop!
When crossing a continent or a mountain range, during a “Race across France” or “Race around Austria”, several thousand kilometers come together, and the rides are thus considered Ultra Distance Cycling. You read it above, there is no set definition, but from about 3000 to 4000km, a tour or race can be called ultracycling . In the Trans Canada Bike Race in 2022, the world's longest distance was ridden, namely an incredible 12,500km! Whether there will be a new edition of this challenge at some point is unfortunately not yet certain.
But it also goes vertically: A special challenge is not to collect kilometers, but elevation meters . There are athletes who break world records in climbing, conquer the highest peaks, or cross the Alps, but a particularly popular ultracycling challenge is “Everesting”. Here, the goal is to collect elevation meters on the bicycle to reach a total of 8,848 meters, the height of Mount Everest. Where your elevation meters are exactly doesn't matter. You can ride some mountain passes in the Alps, repeatedly ride a road through the low mountain ranges, or take the spiral of the parking garage exit hundreds of times. Plans like 10,000 elevation meters in 12 hours would also be true ultracycling.
Ultracycling can also mean accumulating as many elevation meters as possible. The Alps and low mountain ranges then provide a spectacular backdrop. Image © Axel Brunst on Unsplash
Ultra Endurance Cycling – by hours
In Ultra Endurance Cycling , participants must endure, sitting on the bicycle for 6 hours, 10, or 12 hours straight and covering the greatest possible distance in that time. In shorter road time trials , the normal sleep rhythm can still be somewhat maintained, but in the next stage, it also tackles the day-night habits alongside the inner weaker self.
Both in motorsport and cycling, 24-hour races are a well-known number. As a subcategory, there are 24-h-Mountain-Races, where it not only goes around all night but also uphill. Rides over more than 30 hours are then a real challenge, as there is no quitting time here either.
These ultracycling challenges push not only the fitness but also the endurance and concentration of the riders to the limit. A non-stop race over several days is then the extreme case.
Overall, we can conclude: Every ultracycling follows its own rules. The common denominator is: More. More kilometers. More elevation gain. More time in the saddle.
Do you ride ultracycling together or alone?
Ultracycling exists in organized form, either in a group or as a race. But solo riders also participate, often motivated by sponsors, a good cause, or simply a personal, unforgettable experience.
Ultracycling in a team, in the peloton, or as a solo rider – there are different approaches. There are organized gravel, bikepacking, or MTB events that can absolutely be considered ultracycling due to the distances or duration covered, where a joint start signal is given for all registered participants at a set date. Riding is done in the peloton, as a duo, in a team, or alone, depending on the speeds of the individual participants. In almost all ultracycling races, drafting – riding in the slipstream of others – is prohibited, only within a team or duo can you support each other.
As a basis for ultracycling challenges there can also be long-distance cycling routes that bikers like to tackle repeatedly, routes over the Alps, the tracks of the Tour de France or along the former inner-German border are good examples here. There is no organized start here, so you start when and how you like. When extreme bikers plan and ride such tours on their own, it can certainly become ultracycling if the routes are correspondingly large. Since the time limit is completely absent here, it is often referred to as randonneuring , which means long bike trips without time pressure.
What ultracycling events are there?
Over the handlebars into the sunrise – a familiar sight for ultracycling athletes in non-stop races! Image © Luca J on Unsplash
As you now know, there are many different extreme challenges for cyclists. This results in an equally diverse selection of ultracycling events. Here we have a small selection for you:
Race Across America
About 5000 km from the west to the east coast of the USA, and these are conquered annually in an ultra-long bike race. In addition, there are about 52,000 meters of elevation gain on top. The clock runs the entire time, which means that the riders allow themselves an average of about 2 hours of sleep and rest at a time, no more. There is at the “RAAM ” different time limits for women (almost 13 days), men (about 12 days), and teams (about 9 days). Participants or teams in this ultracycling race are usually supported by a team that follows in a car with food, spare parts, and a place to sleep, making it one of the rare supported races.
Trans Am Bike Race
The Trans Am meets similar criteria to the RAAM in terms of route, but it is completely self-supported. Here, it goes on racing bikes over developed roads, avoiding highways. The partner event Bike Nonstop US operates similarly but avoids heavily trafficked roads. This ultracycling race is therefore more aimed at an off-road audience.
Badlands
Badlands is considered one of the dream challenges on European soil. About 750 km and 15,000 meters of elevation sound somehow doable, so where is the “Ultra”? Here, the non-stop rule adds spice, the clock keeps running for five days, while the riders battle through the barren landscape of southern Spain. The entire race is self-supported, so participants must provide their own food, drinks, and bike repairs.
https://badlands.cc/badlands2023/
Terra Australis
Here, the ultracycling challenge consists of a completely self-supported 6250 km journey from north to south across Australia. There is a recommended start date and route planning, the rest you must organize yourself. The individual time trial rule states that you are not competing against others, but rather aiming to achieve your personal best time. You are, of course, allowed to shop and visit bike shops if you have a breakdown. However, the rules state that you must cross the finish line on the same bike you started with. Therefore, having a good bike is of utmost importance to prevent your bike from ruining the ultracycling with a total breakdown.
https://www.breathtakingevents.info/about
Ultracycling pushes you and your equipment to the limit!
Not only do the riders who take on an ultracycling challenge have to give it their all, but ultracycling also places high demands on the bikes and the rest of the equipment! When it comes to equipment, it's about a healthy mix of low weight and high durability – and riding comfort is also an important factor.
Most ultracycling rides are done on endurance racing bikes or gravel bikes . In races like the Trans Am Bike Race, it could also Hardtails can be the right vehicle. Whether and which bike bags you need depends on how long you are on the road and whether you rely on self-support . And beware - since night rides are simply part of ultracycling , excellent bike lights, reflective vests, or high-vis clothing are often recommended or even required by the organizer!
Title image: Tim Foster on Unsplash
