Arna Westfjords Way Challenge (Iceland)
This is a multi-day, semi-supported adventure ride through Iceland’s Westfjords, combining gravel racing with cultural immersion. Timed segments are broken up by neutral riding to promote camaraderie and scenic appreciation.
The race encourages riders to connect with Icelandic communities, local food, and environmental causes along the way. It blends adventure cycling with storytelling and sustainability.
All Points North (UK)
It’s a self-supported, checkpoint-based ultra-endurance race set in the north of England. Riders must visit ten checkpoints scattered across the region and design their own route to link them. It’s mainly a domestic event with a strong local following but limited international exposure. Without a fixed or dramatic route, it doesn’t have the epic visual that some of the more popular races have.
The cool thing about it is that it’s a logistical puzzle as much as a physical challenge. Riders must plan an efficient route through rugged northern terrain, factoring in road conditions, elevation, and timing. The flexibility of route choice rewards strategic thinkers and offers a different flavour of ultra racing, closer to an orienteering-style adventure.
The Unknown Race
This is a very unique multi-stage 1,000 km ultra race because the destination of each stage is only revealed after the previous stage finishes. Riders don’t know the full route or even the country they’ll finish in. The unconventional format and only word-of-mouth promotion keep it niche for now, despite growing interest.
Bohemian Border Bash (Czechia)
A 1,300+ km self-supported gravel race with 23,000 m of climbing and a cool idea behind it. The route is fixed and follows the ancient borderlands of Bohemia via the remnants of centuries-old road networks that still exist to this day.
The route loops through misty Bohemian forests, national parks with steep climbs, ancient castles, and Cold War-era borderlands, hugging the edges of Czechia, Germany, Poland, and Austria. It’s a hauntingly beautiful ride through a lesser-travelled corner of Europe.
Further (France, Spain)
Further is an experimental, semi-navigational ultra race set in the French and Spanish Pyrenees, known for its cryptic route design. Rather than follow a fixed course, riders must interpret topographic maps and access remote “passage points” within vast alpine terrain. The challenge is equal parts physical and mental, requiring self-navigation, mountain intuition, and creative problem-solving.
It avoids mass exposure by design with low rider caps and limited media. It’s more of a cult event among introspective endurance riders.
The Bright Midnight (Norway)
This 1,000+ km self-supported race in Arctic Norway is unique because it happens during the summer solstice when the sun never sets. The competitors pedal through fjords, mountains, and remote tundra under constant daylight. The midnight sun adds a surreal, timeless quality to the race, there’s no night, no typical rest cues, and endless empty landscapes. It’s not just a physical challenge but a psychological one, set in one of the world’s most beautiful and disorienting environments.
Hope 1000 (Switzerland)
This self-supported bikepacking race may be overshadowed by bigger European events like the Transcontinental. But it’s arguably more scenic and technical. It’s a 1,000 km self-supported bikepacking race crossing Switzerland from east to west, with a crazy 30,000 meters of climbing through the Alps. It’s one of the few ultra races that demands both endurance and serious mountain bike handling skills.
While physically demanding, it’s easier in terms of options for resupply, and most people will speak English. In that sense, it could be a good option for those who are fit and good at climbing but maybe not as experienced in the self-supported aspect of bikepacking.
