DotWatcher.cc
Bikes of Seven Serpents 2023
10 May, 2023
Back for its second edition, 172 riders will tackle this 850km set route passing through seven checkpoints across Slovenia, Croatia and Italy from mountain tops to marina towns. An off-road bonanza on some of Southern Europe's lesser ridden gravel and secondary roads from long-time racer Bruno Ferraro makes for excellent dotwatching.
It's a mostly fast rolling course with great landscape diversity along the Adriatic Coast, the Dinaric Alps and finally the Mediterranean. You can follow along with the race at our commentary .
Thomas Kallay
Name: Thomas Kallay
Age: 42
Cap number: 64
Location: Mindelheim, Germany
Bike: OPEN WI.DE. Frame + Fork, Size small. Kris King Hubs, 3t Discus 45 Carbon Aero Rims, Specialized Patfinder 42c Tires, Rotor Aldhu Cranks 165mm Oval Chainring 38t, Crank Brothers Mallet, Sram Force Shifters with 1x12 Rotor Ratio Kit, E13 Helix R 12s Cassette 9-50t Brakes Force with G2 4Piston Calipers, thicker Brake Rotors, Infinity Elite Series Bike Seat – E1X Saddle, Canyon S14 VCLS 2.0 CF Seatpost, FSA K-WING AGX Carbon Handelbar, Zipp SL Speed Carbon Stem 80mm + plenty of Spacers to get the right Stack Hight, Lupine Betty + Remote Control.
Key items of kit: Infinity Elite Series Bike Seat – E1X Saddle + Canyon S14 VCLS 2.0 CF Seatpost hands down the most comfortable Saddle/ Seatpost Combo. So Comfy day after day, makes me happy to sit down an keep rolling… so overall Comfort is King to riding for several days in a row.
Leo Wildfeuer
Name: Leo Wildfeuer
Age: 31
Cap number: 152
Location: Munich, Germany
Bike: Custom built Surly Midnight Special with Curve GXR carbon fork. 9th Wave Anath 650B wheels with tubeless 55mm Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge Extralights. Groupset is a mixed SRAM AXS 36 x 10-52 with Garbaruk cassette and chainring and waxed chain. SQlab saddle on Thomson seatpost and Ritchey VentureMax with Redshift Drop Grips mounted to Redshift Shockstop stem.
Key items of kit: Apidura 17l saddle pack and 4,5l half frame bag. Revelate Designs Mag-Tank 2000 and Egress Pocket holding a 4l dry bag. Three water bottles plus a Salomon ADV Skin running vest on the back. Weather forecast is rainy so a proper rain kit is packed. Sleep kit consists of sleeping mat, sleeping bag plus tarp. Lupine Neo front light, 2 small back lights and Wahoo Element Bolt for Navigation. Spare AXS battery, brake pads and basic tools.
Kirsten Cluley
Name: Kirsten Cluley
Age: 34
Cap number: 4
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Bike: Sonder Camino Ti with Shimano GRX group set with probably not enough gears...
Key items of kit: Apidura frame, saddle and top tube bag - good chance to test out extreme storm proofness. Custom made stem bag from a friend, with Ecosse flag.
Tycjan
Name: Tycjan
Age: 35
Cap number: 79
Location: Amsterdam
Bike: Trek Checkpoint SL5 2023
Key items of kit: Baby Legs Bags
Jefte De Bruin
Name: Jefte De Bruin
Age: 37
Cap number: 158a
Location: Netherlands
Bike: Surly Karate Monkey, DT Swiss Wheels with SON hub front.
Key items of kit: Ortlieb Bags, K-lite front and Lezyne tail light.
Aleix Mayor Alonso
Name: Aleix Mayor Alonso
Age: 33
Cap number: 76
Location: Calders, Scotland
Bike: Canyon Grizl, SRAM XPLR AXS 38/44 chainset. 45 mm Pirelli Cinturato M gravel. DT Swiss G1800 and SQ LAB 612R Carbon Saddle.
Key items of kit: Apidura 1,5 Top Tube pack, Apidura 4,5 Frame Bag and Apidura 14 Saddle Bag.
Vera Pfaff
Name: Vera Pfaff
Age: 30
Cap number: 152
Location: Munich, Germany
Bike: Specialized Diverge with Roval carbon wheels and Sram AXS Rival/ GX shifting. Swapped tires for tubeless 48mm Rene Herse Oracle Ridge. Chanaed to a 38 tooth chainring and a 10-52 Garbaruk cassette. Mounted Redshift Drop Grips.
Key items of kit: Apidura Expedition 14l saddle pack and racing series top tube bag. Many small items are stuffed in the SWAT box inside the downtube. Three water bottles plus a Salomon ADV Skin running vest for water. Thermarest NeoAir Sleeping mat and Hyperion sleeping bag. Lupine Neo front light, 2 small back lights and Wahoo Element Bolt for Navigation.
Roy Ebelt
Name: Roy Ebelt
Age: 37
Cap number: 15 Quick bite!
Location: Murrhardt - Germany
Bike: SCOTT Addict Gravel tuned. SRAM RED/XX1 AXS Mullet 46t 10-52 / DT-Swiss GRC 1100 with Schwalbe G-ONE RS 45-622.
Key items of kit: Bags: Apidura Race Series + Ortlieb. Light: Lupine SL-AF + Lupine Rotlicht MAX. Battery: Lupine 13,8wh + 6,9wh. Navigation: Garmin Solar Edge 1040.
Christof Jeker
Name: Christof Jeker
Age: 36
Cap number: 61
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Bike: Custom bike with a stainless steel frame from Cicli Bonanno as the centrepiece. Whisky MCX fork and Koba carbon wheel set with Chris King hubs. Shimano Di2 1x11 setup with Garbaruk 11-50 cassette and absoluteBLACK 38T oval chainring.
Key items of kit: Tailfin rack and bag, Apidura Expedition frame pack and Revelate Designs Toptube bag. Lupine lights front and rear. The trusty Infinity bike saddle to keep my butt comfortable during these long days.
Daniele Scotton
Name: Daniele Scotton
Age: 42
Cap number: 70
Location: Solagna, Italy
Bike: OPEN WI.DE.
Key items of kit: Beer
Tim Jud
Name: Tim Jud
Age: 27
Cap number: #27 - Quick Bite!
Location: Siegen, Germany
Bike: 29“ Carbon Hardtail with RockShox Judy Gold, DT Swiss wheelset with Vittoria Terreno tires, Shimano SLX groupset and Gebiomized Saddle.
Key items of kit: Apidura bags, Wahoo ELEMNT Roam, CloseTheGap ErgoMyRide inner bar ends, lemelo drinks, Sigma Buster 2000.
Christian Ott
Name: Christian Ott
Age: 56
Cap number: #54 - Quick Bite
Location: Freiburg, Germany
Bike: I will ride my trusty steel Kona Rove LTD in aqua blue, which I bought in 2018. Upgraded to 12x SRAM Rival AXS and Eagle GX mullet build. 38t front chain ring. A mix of Schwalbe G-One R and Pirelli Cinturato H tires, 700c 45mm, tubeless. I like wide tires and this is the max that I can get in the frame.
Key items of kit: A mix of Apidura, Tailfin (Aeropack) and Revelate bags and harness. Sleep system: Katabatic Bivy, Nemo Tensor insulated mat, Cumulus down quilt and a little inflatable pillow. And most importantly my down jacket from Rab, which goes with me on every adventure. Wahoo Bolt for navigation. German made SON dynamo and lights, Sinewave Revolution charger and an Anker power bank.
Claire Frecknall
Name: Claire Frecknall
Age: 39
Location: UK
Bike: Mason Bokeh with Hunt 650b Adventure Dynamo Discs
Key items of kit: Restrap bags, Teravail tyres, Exposure lights, Outdoor Research bivi, Rab quilt, Thermarest mat.
Martin Aylward
Name: Martin Aylward
Age: 54
Cap number: 7
Location: Brighton, England
Bike: I'll be riding my trusty Mason Bokeh with Hunt 650b wheels, Pirelli Cinturato M 50mm tyres, SRAM Red AXS XPLR groupset, a 38t chainring and 10-44t cassette. Zipp bars and stem and matchy matchy Cinelli Mike Giant bottle cages and tape.
Key items of kit: Apidura bags & hydration pack, Exposure Toro & Axis lights, Anker 20,000mAh power bank, Wahoo Roam computer, Sea to Summit pad & sleeping bag, Outdoor Research Bivy, buckets of chamois cream & sudocrem and a mini Ant Man to bring me luck 😀
Sam Vanhoutte
Name: Sam Vanhoutte
Age: 42
Cap number: 80
Location: Belgium
Bike: Canyon Grail CF SLX 8.0 Di2, DTSwiss and 40mm tyres.
Key items of kit: Topeak bags. Sea to summit (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat).
Keith Wallace
Name: Keith Wallace
Age: 36
Cap number: 124
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bike: My bike's name is Earl he’s a fairly stock Canyon CF SL 6 with DT Swiss 1850 wheels and GRX 400 groupset. Just the stem has been swapped to a Zipp 100mm and saddle changed to a Fizik Terra Argo X5.
Key items of kit: On the front I have an Alpkit Gravel bag strapped to a Specialized rack carrying extra layers, toiletries, battery pack and cables. Not very aero but I like this set up as I can get to everything easily within the top access bag.
On the back is an AGU saddle bag carrying an Alpkit Hunka bivvy, Decathlon air mattress, down jacket and lightweight sleeping bag.
Front light is a Rigel Enduro, which is massively overkill on lumens and weight but works great on dark forest trails and has a decent battery life. No idea what brand my backlight (not pictured) is but it does its job and straps to my saddle bag.
I’ll also be carrying a small Camelbak Rogue with essential repair tools and extra water and food.
Lucky item: cheap analog camera.
Dario
Name: Dario
Age: 32
Cap number: 162
Location: Udine, Italy
Bike: Scott Speedster 300
Key items of kit: Miss Grape and Apidura bikepacks.
Gary Johnson
Name: Gary Johnson
Age: 63
Cap number: 63
Location: Sequim, Washington, USA
Bike: Seven Cycles
Key items of kit: Tailfin bag.
Adam Krabbe
Name: Adam Krabbe
Age: 33
Cap number: 5
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Bike: Vitus Energie EVO with mix of Shimano Ultegra Di2 and Shimano GRX Di2. Wheels are Hunt with Son dynamo hub with Pirelli Cinturato gravel RC 45mm.
Key items of kit: Handlebar bag and seat bag from Restrap. Custom frame bag from L'ateljé. Front light: SON Edelux II.
Niels Ihrman
Name: Niels Ihrman
Age: 38
Cap number: 102
Location: Knegsel, The Netherlands
Bike: Bombtrack Hook EXT GRX800 48-31 in the front. Shimano SLX 11-40t in the rear. Wheels are 650B in the photo, but will probably switch to 700C with WTB Riddlers or similar. Cane Creek eeSilk+ seat post to filter out the bigger bumps.
Key items of kit: Bags: Apidura Expedition full frame bag + 1.5L Hydration bladder, seatpack + handlebar pack are also Apidura Expedition. Sleeping kit: Exped Synmat HL LW, Cumulus quilt 250 and an Outdoor Research Helium Bivy. kLite Ultra V2 Gravel headlight.
Christoph
Name: Christoph
Age: 44
Cap number: 114
Location: Bremen, Germany
Bike: Moots Routt 45 with Beast Components wheels and Specialized Rhombus tyres in 47mm when things get rough. Shimano GRX with a White Industrie crank with 34t in front and 42t rear.
Key items of kit: Bags by Rideandgetlost and Apidura. Front light Lupine Mono AF with a powerbank and rear light Specialized Stix. Sea to Summit Bivy and Exped Pad for cold nights. For hydration a Camelback with a 2L bladder.
Lindner Georg
Name: Lindner Georg
Age: 28
Cap number: 72
Location: Lengau, Austria
Bike: 3T Exploro, wheelset Roval Terra CL with Dynohub and Shimano GRX 810 2X groupset.
Key items of kit: Ortlieb 13 QR Seatbag, Selfmade framebag and top tube bag, Supernova Dynamo Frontlight and Backlight + Headlamp, Therm-a-Rest Sleeping Bag, Exped Sleeping Mat.
Hans Are Ovanger
Name: Hans Are Ovanger
Age: 60
Cap number: 155
Location: Tromsø, Norway
Bike: OPEN UP, SRAM Rival AXS 46/33T, 10-44T 12 spd. Zipp 303S/Zipp G40 tubeless, Fizik Terra Argo X1 and Shimano spd pedals.
Key items of kit: Apidura expedition full frame 12L, Apidura Expedition saddle pack 14L, Apidura Racing long top tube pack, Apidura Racing aerobar pack, Apidura Expedition downtube pack and Apidura Hydration Vest (picture of my Badlands rig which I will modify). Mountain Equipment bivy bag, RAB silk liner, Sea to Summit Aeros pillow ultralight, Lupine light front/back and Garmin radar backlight.
Fischer Adrian
Name: Fischer Adrian
Age: 41
Cap number: 44
Location: Zug, Switzerland
Bike: Specialized Diverge with Shimano GRX 2x11 (10/36), Ritchey Venturemax carbon bar and Specialized Rhombus Pro 2Bliss 700x47 tubeless.
Key items of kit: Apidura Saddle Bag, Top tube and down tube bag. Victory Chimp small handlebar bag. Restrap food pouch. Sleeping system WM Summerlite sleeping bag, Sea to Summit Ultra light insulated mat and rescue blanket. Lupine Piko Front light, Lupine Rotlich max rear light, with 2 battery packs and two power banks.
Alex Thumwood
Name: Alex Thumwood
Age: 29
Cap number: 115
Location: Germany
Bike: 8Bar Mitte V3 bike, DT Swiss G1800 spline wheels, Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M 45mm tyres set up with tubes. Shimano GRX 2x groupset. 11speed 46/30t crankset and 12-34t cassette. Fork, handlebar, stem and seatpost are all from 8bar.
Key items of kit: Jack the bike rack!
Dan Speer
Name: Dan Speer
Age: 35
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bike: Basso Palta 2020, Zipp 303s Wheelset with Vittoria Terrano Dry 38c tyres. Shimano GRX 1x11 groupset and Prologo seat.
Key items of kit: Maap x Apidura frame bag and Apidura top tube bag.
Alberto Bovo
Name: Alberto Bovo
Age: 31
Cap number: 27
Location: Treviso, Italy
Bike: Canyon Grizl CF SL 7, Ritchey Venturemax COMP BB Black Flare 24° - 31,8 mm/46 cm handlebar with Fizik Terra Microtex Bondcush Tacky 3mm. Front tyre Schwalbe G One ultrabite 50mm tubeless and rear tyre Schwalbe G One bite 50 mm tubeless.
Key items of kit: Miss Grape bags (Moon, Internode, Node 2H adventure and Cluster waterproof).
Mladen Milic
Name: Mladen Milic
Age: 51
Cap number: 79
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Bike: Specialized Diverge Expert Carbon, SRAM Eagle, Roval Terra carbon rims 12 speed with 11-50t cassette.
Key items of kit: Apidura bags, Lezyne lights, Garmin Edge 1030 Plus with charger and Camelbak bidons.
Bo Harnisch
Name: Bo Harnisch
Age: 35
Cap number: 55
Location: Utrecht, Netherlands
Bike: I ride a Cannondale Topstone 5 carbon size M with a 2x11 Shimano GRX drivetrain. To keep my legs spinning on the tough sections I upgraded to a 11-40 cassette with 46/30 chainrings. The wheels are handmade carbon rims with Erase hubs and a titanium body. On these wheels I will ride knobby tires, the 40 mm Tufo gravel Swampero for some extra grip and confidence in the downhills. The cockpit of the bike is from Zipp components.
Key items of kit: My bags are a mix of different brands, though they match quite well on the bike. My Sea to summit mat, Enlightened equipment quilt and spare clothes are tucked away in the Tailfin rear bag. The perfectly fitting Specialized frame bag contains electronics, spares and toilet stuff. The 3L Brooks Scape pouch and Agu Venture top tube bag are mainly for food and I will use a Ravemen front light with a Lezyne rear and head light for the darkness. To carry some extra water I bring a foldable Platypus water bottle.
