Marco Martins

Marco Quaresma

Paulo Caçoete

António Dias

Fernando Pinto

Benedikt Stratmann

Edgar Santos

Tiago Semedo

Frederik Derycke

Luis MR Santos

Vicente Rivera

Johnny Thomsen

John Pears

Ricardo Baptista

André Serrazina

Nuno Pereira

Luis Almeida

Ovídio Linhas

Paulo Rodrigues

Rui Linhas

Tiago Costa

Nuno Gomes

Ray Wood

Luis Filipe Santos

Simon Deprez

Uwe Kunzelmann

Patrício Rebola

João Manuel Pinto

Fergal Treacy

Luís Miguel Rodrigues

Ricardo Torrao

Adam Stapleton

Holly Seear

Steve Davidson

Aitor Vinos

Joaquim Santos

Pedro Gonçalves

Sérgio Duarte

João Santos

Ivete Neto

John Benders

Paulo Rente

André Ferreira

Maria João Jerónimo

João Machado

António Neto

David Pessoa

Miguel Pessoa

Sérgio Cabo

Firmino Morgado

Media 1 (Rui Tremoceiro)

Media 2 (Rui Ribeiro)

Day Four Update

- Gravel Birds 750 Pairs: cap#35 Holly Seear and cap#36 Steve Davidson (our magnificent and lovely couple) was the fastest pair. Amazing final effort and arrival in the middle of the last night. Congrats Holly and Steve! cap#37 Joaquim Santos and cap#36 Aitor Vinos arrived today at lunch time. Joaquim was forced to drop out in the inaugural edition. Now he finished the job!

- Gravel Birds 750 Solo: the 11 fastest riders already arrived to Castro Verde. We are expecting to arrive soon: cap#01 Johnny Thomsen and cap#26 John Pears.

- L’Abetarda 270: All riders arrived. Safe and sound.


Day Four | Sand Was Once Gravel

We had a gathering of heroes arriving to Castro Verde.

Do you remember what you did when you were 12 years old? Well, cap#50 David Pessoa rode the L’Abetarda route with his father - cap#49 Miguel Pessoa. And they did it really well by finishing the route in just two days. They arrived a few minutes after Marco Martins (Gravel Birds 750 fastest rider). David told us that he already have a goal for the next year's edition: to finish ‘L’Abetarda’ route in just one day.

A DotWatcher 'Pairs Award' candidate, don't you think?

But we have more. A few minutes before Marco's arrival, a very special long distance cyclist arrived. Do you think that our sport and bikepacking by BIcycle is absolutely insane and hard? Well, try to do it on UNIcycle. Rebecca Wiedener - is riding the European Divide Trail. Beccy started in Algarve and will finish in Norway… 7,600 kilometers.

Any questions about how fantastic this place is?

Gravel Heroes

Marco Martins - cap #24 - was the fastest rider to complete the route of ‘Gravel Birds Ultracycling’ 2023. What an incredible performance! 

We must confess. We never imagined that someone could complete the route before sunset on the second day!


Marco Martins, the Fastest.

On the first day, the majority of the riders accomplished the mission of reaching 'Pomarão' (CP1), a small village close to the border with Spain. Today's plan is to follow the opposite direction - heading West - and reach 'Zambujeira do Mar' (CP2), a beautiful coastal village the Atlantic ocean.

However, the majority of the riders will only hear the relaxing sound of the waves at night. Crossing the width of mainland Portugal in the Baixo Alentejo region isn't easy at all. The hardest part of the route - in terms of orography - is located precisely here. Gravel Birds Ultracycling doesn't have epic and brutal climbs, but counting all several small climbs... 

cap#24 Marco Martins arrived to 'Zambujeira do Mar' on the first dawn of the event and now the questions seems to be if will he finished the route before the sunset in Castro Verde. Marco is literally flying back to the nest/finish point.

__The Revenge of the Little Birds__

At the beginning there was a doubt. Will some participants/birds of the shortest route - L'Abetarda 270 - complete it before the fastest rider of the 'Gravel Birds 750' route? Well, four of them did it. cap#46 João Santos was the fastest rider, completing the route in almost 29 hours. cap#46 Ivete Neto - one of our only 3 female riders - was the second fastest (less than 34 hours). She is also - for sure - the happiest participant of 'Gravel Birds 2023'! cap#45 John Benders and cap#41 Paulo Rente also finished L'Abetarda in less than 34 hours.

Day Two | Heading the Atlantic

And the (early) birds left their nests at sunrise! 

47 riders. 35 are riding the 'Gravel Birds 750' route (29 solo and 3 pairs) and 12 are riding the 'L'Abetarda 270' route (8 solo and 2 pairs). 3 Did Not Start (DNS). 

The Portuguese flag prevails in the roster - showing that the ultracycling and gravel scene is growing in our country - but we also have participants form diferent nationaties: Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Denmark, Irland and Netherlands. The second edition of 'Gravel Birds Ultracycling' is definitely the year of the internationalization. 

Unfortunately, we only have 3 female riders in our lineup: cap #35 Holly Seear (GB'750 Pair category) and cap#46 Ivete Neto and cap#43 Maria João Jerónimo. We planned a special coverage of our adventurous women. We want to inspire more 'non-male' riders to join us in the future.

The menu for today (Gravel Birds 750): an approach to the inland areas and closer to Spain. After the cities of Beja and Serpa, the riders will face the Guadiana Valley. We like to call it the 'Guadiana Roller Coster'. Are you wondering why? However, the ups and downs aren't the only challenge of this crazy gravel tracks. We are talking about extreme remote areas. So resuppling in Serpa will be crucial! The temperatures are bellow 30ºC. Could be worst, but it is hot enough to complicate the riders' progression.

After that the route won't became easier with hike-a-bike sections in the abandoned mining railroad and tunnels (Minas de São Domingos). The old railroad used to transport copper and pyrite from the open-pit mine in São Domingos to the inland port of Pomarão. From there, the ore was taken by boat along the Guadiana River and then by sea, mainly to England. But when the mine's British owners closed it in 1966, everything was left as it was. Different times, for sure, but the result was the amazing post-apocalyptic scenery that we can ride today (we are planning to publish impressive photos).

We expect the fastest riders to arrive at CP1 'Pomarão' during the afternoon and early evening. In 'L'Abetarda 270' we are already waiting for the first participants in CP 'Santa Clara-a-Nova.

Day One | The (Early) Birds

The Gravel Birds route was originally designed as a single circular route of 750 km, but in 2023 we are also presenting a version with a shorter distance and a lower degree of difficulty, consisting of an inner loop and sharing a large part of its course with the original route. Both routes start and end in Castro Verde.

We named the original route as “Gravel Birds 750” and the short loop “L’Abetarda 270”, named in honor of the most emblematic bird of the Alentejo steppes, the majestic Great Bustard (Otis tarda).

The introduction of this shorter loop, more plural and inclusive, is also an invitation to all those who are starting out in adventure cycling or who simply (yet) don't feel prepared for an overly extreme challenge.

__Gravel Birds 750__

Gravel Birds 750 covers a good part of Baixo Alentejo region. It’s a physical demanding adventure route that crosses some of the most remote and isolated territories in Portugal.

In the open plains of the inland Alentejo, gravel roads are generally quite fluid and allow for a fast pace, contrasting with the more rugged terrain of the Guadiana Valley and Serra do Caldeirão.

In Pomarão the route almost touches the border with Spain and between Zambujeira do Mar and Porto Côvo it follows along the shoreline.

Along the 750 km, Gravel Birds passes through dozens of villages and small towns, but in some more remote sections there will be many kms to ride far from civilization.

The Gravel Birds 750 has an elevation gain of approximately 7500 m, being approximately 75% gravel.

__L'Abetarda 270__

L'Abetarda 270 is a smaller and more accessible version of the Gravel Birds route, forming a central loop and sharing almost all of its course with the larger route. 

The first 40 km are common for both routes, separating from the Gravel Birds 750 to rejoin a bit later. On this shortcut, L’Abetarda 270 avoids the harshness of the Guadiana Valley. 

In the village of Alvares, the routes come together again to share the long roads heading south. Following along the Algarve border, the L'Abetarda 270 accompanies the Gravel Birds 750 almost to the top of the Serra do Caldeirão, separating again to follow the ridge of the mountain to the Check Point of Santa Clara-a-Nova. From there, both routes coincide until they end in Castro Verde. 

L’Abetarda has an elevation gain of approximately 2700 m, with 65% of gravel.

Route(s) Preview

Olá bikepacking/self-supported ultracycling community!

Greetings from Alentejo, Portugal. Welcome to the second edition of Gravel Birds Ultracycling!

My name is David and you eventually know me as the the person behind the FinisTerra CC project (organizer of Heading SouthWest, At Last Lost). I will be the "Race" Director. Fortunately, we have a team of 3 organizers (me, Rui Ribeiro and Rui Tremoceiro) and also a great team of volunteers that allows me to also have - for the first time - the role of  commentator on DotWatcher. Having both roles means more responsibility in terms of a neutral coverage. On the other hand, the position will allow me to take a closer look from this adventure across Alentejo region.

'Gravel Birds Ultracycling' is a self-supported ultracycling challenge across Alentejo region in one-stage. Along the 75% off-road (set) route with approximately 750 kilometers and 7.500 meters of climbing, long-distance cyclists will face the Alentejo hills from the inland areas of the Guadiana Valley to the Atlantic coast. Two routes available: 750K and 270K.

The 50 riders will depart on Saturday morning: 05:30 UTC, 06:30 local, 07:30 CET in Castro Verde village. I will keep you updated over the next hours and share the route/lineup preview.

Até breve!

Gravel Birds Ultracycling | INTRO

Gravel Birds 2023 Tracking and Commentary: A loop of the untouched Alentejo region in Portugal will take riders along the many hills of the region, the Guadiana Valley, to the Atlantic coast and inland again.

Gravel Birds 2023 Tracking

A loop of the untouched Alentejo region in Portugal will take riders along the many hills of the region, the Guadiana Valley, to the Atlantic coast and inland again.

Gravel Birds 2023

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Gravel Birds 2023

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