Female Winner Maya!

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Punctures, Serpents, and Ferries: Day 2 on the Trail

Day 1 Recap

The Dots are on the Way!

Welcome to Seven Serpents 2024

Robert Britton

Antonio Dell'Ava

Andrea De Gruttola

Pascal Yoncaova

Roman Schraner

Markus Prantl

Giulio Scalzotto

Oliver Schuller

Alexander Stramma

Nils Opgenorth

Rafael Lange

Timo Rokitte

Louison Bangerter

Giovanni Ganzerli

Stefano Aimar

Stefano Rao

Tobias Kuster

Tim von Glahn

Miguel Vilacha

Felix Albrecht

Federico Bogoni

Alessandro Poletti

Elia Tellini

Roland Leeb

Luca Bondi

Jos Voorbraak

Arne Böttger

Helge Meyer

Andrea Fontanini

Alessandro Zuffetti

Riccardo Zanaboni

Markus Brigl

Clayton Fellman

Maya Christofori

Martin Groth

Tobias Uhlmann

Massimo Ronchin

Victor Metzelaar

Giulia Balbinot

Markus Ott

Franz Schäbler

Patrick Peritz

Sven Wagner

Samuel Blattmann

Max Eckl

Elliott Dixon

Timo Reijnen

Ralph Bergner

Thomas Bergner

Philipp Böckmann

Stephen LaDyne

Giuseppe Pernigotti

Benjamin Geissler

Kolja Erbacher

Daniele Gambarotto

Kathrin Springet

Tobias Reischle

Tommaso Bon

Thomas Hoyer

Andrea Peruzzo

Keith Wallace

Oscar Huckle

Balazs Csongor

Andrea Metzner

Daniel Sommer

Franz Steininger

Marco Ricci

Dennis Stern

Sašo Vogrinec

Ferdinand Röhrl

Stefan Dietze

Clemens Peti Melms

Matti Kern

Ines Kaindl

Flurin Giger

Luca Rizzo

Ahmed Uzejnović

Benjamin Hülsen

Gernot Siebenhofer

David Moser

Christoph Tapken

Gregor Enns

Daniel Seitz

Cara Dixon

Omar Martinello

Sandro Caprio

Romeo Bissoli

Sophie Drew

Georgia Drew

Rainer Huber

Mauri Konttila

Eugenio Pilastro

Giovanni Sampino

Stefan Urleb

Ruben Verhelst

Nicolò Rebellato

Edoardo Méndez

Stef Claes

Jan Claes

Michael Kneip

Ariane Richter

Giuseppe Colucci

Orestis Kapetanopoulos

Bastian Mensing

Jens Schubert

Max Benjamin Zorn

Johannes Seitz

Emanuel Kopp

Flavian Tschurr

Benedict Baumann

Francesco Biadene

Roberto Bandiera

Alex Aloha

Michi Pirker

Enrico Stehr

Bettina Araya Napolitano

Korbinian Weigl

Tinneke De Souter

Steven Bertels

Regan Wilkes *

Saskia Martin *

Tatiana Myk *

Philipp Hoeltzcke

Marco Segafreddo

BRUNO - PAPA SERPENT 

CLARK - MEDIA

Happy Friday everyone,

We have had loads of finishers of the route who faced some rainy and muddy conditions over the last 48hours. This makes the achievement of finishing all the more rewarding!

I’m writing from the train, as I am currently on the way back to Scotland, where I will take part in the Highland Trail 550 next weekend. It’s a 25-hour journey from Bolzano to Glasgow in total, so a mini endurance event of its own!
Maya put in a massive effort overnight and today to gain an advantage over Giulia. You can see from this screenshot earlier in the day just how neck and neck it was! 

![ close race](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6KjFjGfIEJDqCRpP9XelDP/bdf803ace10299b061a2c2a585ce15f9/Day_5_close_race.jpg)

Maya put in a massive effort from Cres and overtook Giulia while she was sleeping on the Istrian peninsula. In some very muddy conditions, it could be that the mountain bike handled the rough conditions easier. 

In the end Maya Christofori is the first solo female finisher with a total time of 102 hrs 55 mins. She slept outside for four nights and didn’t take a shower either! Massive well done, and it was great to follow the updates from the ride.

Also a massive shout out to Edo & Nico who were the first pair back, finishing in just under 80 hours, very strong riding, and with some achilles issues for Nico along the way too.

![7S DAY3-0603](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7noltzbMsIvFdSqPGB9frN/990626c992325454ac9385376d47425f/7S_DAY3-0603.jpg)

I am now going in to rest mode ahead of Highland Trail next week. It’s been great to watch the Seven Serpents race this year, and you may very well see my name on the startline next year! Well done to Bruno for putting on the race, along with Quickbite, and thanks to everyone for taking part!


Hello folks,

Exciting news to report today is that Rob Britton finished early this afternoon in record time, setting a crazy fast new FKT on this very testing course. I hope he is getting some rest in a real bed tonight after some of Trieste’s finest linguine and gelato. To get around the course in just 53hours really is insane. Will this encourage Justinas to come back and give it another go next year?!

At the time of writing Antonio Dell'Ava is at 780km, followed by Andrea de Gruttola at 753km. These two have put in a huge ride and will be hoping to push on to the finish in the early.

Giulia continues to hold a 25km lead over Maya at the 550km mark. Great riding from these strong bikepackers, who have had some really challenging conditions out there on the trails.

It looks like there have been some showers and windy sections to deal with on the course today. I particularly enjoyed watching Maya’s video take from the hike-a-bike section on Krk, she really goes through all the emotions on [there](https://www.instagram.com/maya.maya.pants.on.fire/)!
Massive respect to everyone out on the course, keeping the pedals turning with the rain gear on. You are all heroes! 

![7S DAY2-0018](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/78vs6vLu9rmHGYM89130Qq/11ba866114e233692bd06f5f8e821705/7S_DAY2-0018.jpg)

![7S DAY2-0120](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2IZeLZNWekQ2hyqoD7C6al/ffeb2834ded6175f85c0b47c1af8ced3/7S_DAY2-0120.jpg)

Good evening folks.

We are now into the evening of Day 2 and most riders are now concentrated on the island of Krk, or in the Croatian mountain section that precedes it. It looks like there was some rain late on yesterday that led many to rest a bit earlier than planned.

![7S DAY2-9948](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1XramxWJLOE5kXDNo4i9Sh/dcda87b90692c1cbad96f6610e89a48c/7S_DAY2-9948.jpg)

Yesterday Peti was riding strong in second place but seems to have had puncture issues overnight and has dropped back slightly in the field. My German is not great but I’m guessing he found himself without a tube/pump to resolve the issue.
Bruno (aka Papa Serpent) went to observe the tough hike-a-bike section on Krk. I can confirm that it really is steep! Thankfully it doesn’t last too long, but it is a loose gravel ride down the other side to rejoin the road. Riders will need to do well to stay rubber side up over there and get themselves across to the ferry to Cres.

![7S DAY2-9868](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2b8Y046aLNvE6uABWvIRnG/c825165b7eb42e2fbbee51bc336592d4/7S_DAY2-9868.jpg)

Rob has pushed on relentlessly and is now making his way through the Istrian peninsula on his way to Trieste. Last year I took a break from the rain in bus shelter in Buje for a few hours in the night. Let’s see if Rob decides to stop at all! The fatigue must be building up, but its fair to say that conditions are dryer this year and he may be tempted to set the record time.

Antonio Dell'Ava is currently 50km behind Rob and will soon be joining him back on the mainland, while it looks like the bunch of riders behind him are enjoying some rest in the town of Cres. It was quite a rocky circuit to complete before arriving here, so I understand why riders need the additional rest here.

![7S DAY2-9735-2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1yEFb5gqwdGHtvRizJCIJG/4045df2d2883e9c62d3ec9c8548ff28a/7S_DAY2-9735-2.jpg)

Giulia is making fantastic progress and currently has around 420km of the course completed with Maya at 384km and Tatiana at 375km respectively. Fantastic efforts from everyone out there on the course. Enrica has been doing a great job of capturing the riders along the way. 

I’ll be back tomorrow for an update! Today, I’ve had two lunches, two dinners, and a nap after work! Post Quickbite fatigue is real!


![maya](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6ef9P7ILRZ2WPJxdgOAOu/97fe8b5bcb5130c40d33419fd850963a/maya.png)

Good evening folks! We are now well over 12 hours into the race and the serpents have been doing a great job of slithering themselves around the course. 
It has been a very hot first day for the Serpents as they made their way out of Ljubljana and towards the Croatian border. However, Bruno reported that it was cold and windy at CP1, with a few showers. Many riders decided to stop and warm up at Postojna before heading on to the more remote section of the route that crosses into Croatia.

It looks like Rob Britton has built up quite an advantage on the other riders before CP1 and is now at the highpoint of CP2 in Croatia as I type. He currently has a 35km advantage on second position Peti and could well be on track to beat the course record set by Justinas last year.

We have a closer following pack behind these first two riders and I remember meeting Andrea de Gruttola at the race last year. He will be one to watch out for, with a good knowledge of the race route.

Bruno let me know earlier in the day that their have been issues with the trackers. This is due to solar storms, and the lovely Aurora Borealis that has been on display in the last few days here in Europe. Everyone has had tracker issues, not just limited to a few.

Maya and Julia are riding close to each other, having stopped earlier for some food. Maya has been giving some updates along the route on her [IG account](https://www.instagram.com/maya.maya.pants.on.fire/). Check those out! It seems she has had an unfortunate rip in her bibs but luckily took an extra pair along on the ride!



It’s a speedy start this morning from Ljubljana with dry conditions and a warm day ahead. The riders are fast on their way to the steep section of hike-a-bike that leads to the church at Sveta Trojica. Last year the muddy hike-a-bike was gruelling. The mud was sticking to the bikes and so everything had to be carried up a very steep gradient. Given the dryer conditions this week lets hope the riders don’t have this to contend with!

I thought it would be useful to have a quick look through the bikes that are listed on the Dotwatcher Bikes of Seven Serpents page, to get a feel for what setups people are running in the race this year. It is interesting to note that first and second riders last year were on much more MTB-style rigs, both with front suspension!

Most of the rigs I can see are gravel bikes with chunky tyres, 45mm or larger, which is a must on this route. This is a very appetizing rig from Louison:

![louison](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3fAajE8kMGhxPTp380wP32/dd938aa95873f95dac07f98a8cb1a0ca/Louison_.png)

A few of the veterans from last year have swapped out gravel bikes for MTB, with greater comfort a worthwhile consideration. This set up from Christoph looks like a good way to go:

![Christoph - veteran](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5U9v642RBHJmDcqaAKDuDL/a76c4bea74d30cc6ff372b7347d982c4/Christoph_-_veteran.png)

Here is a photo of the snazzy new 8Bar hardtail that was mentioned earlier, with a few of their team, including Tatiana and Maya riding on those:

![Maya Christofori](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/8HzwXSMuN2rxizSi0Jojd/ad1654a308dd502b4023257e13e75235/Maya_Christofori.png)

Elsewhere, I appreciate the “ride what you got” approach of Franz and his old Cannondale MTB.

![Franz](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1KpBlmSUrZEftSh66rTvHW/0d384ad0179eb1f5b73f64c66d130b16/Franz.png)

Whatever the bike choice, these will need to be sturdy enough to stand up to some seriously chunky gravel over the next few days and the comfort of wider tyres and low gears will become a key factor in deciding how long riders can stay on the bike! I’ll be back later on for an update on the race!


Hello and welcome to the Dotwatcher commentary for the Seven Serpents 2024. My name is Marcus Nicolson and I have just about recovered from riding the Quick Bite edition of the race last week where I managed to finish 9th. I’ve just about eaten enough pizza and pasta to forget those crazy steep Croatian gravel climbs.
Unfortunately, my gravel bike was stolen from the train when traveling back from Verona to Bolzano last Tuesday 7th May. If anyone sees this Pelago Stavanger with full set of Straight Cut bags please let me know!

![IMG 6977](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/66RgtZzV26w77pOQscASyo/ec2be580b21ec3f5f35400c9e06ffe87/IMG_6977.JPEG)

Seven Serpents Course overview

The longer version of the race also begins in Ljubljana, Slovenia and ends in Trieste, Italy. It takes on a slightly more winding route, with plenty more climbing than the Quick Bite of course. The route winds out from Ljubljana on some fast rolling gravel, before the chunky Croatian mountain section, and riders find the coast. The track takes in long off-road sections on the Croatian islands of Krk and Cres, before riders return for the final sprint on the Istrian peninsula to Trieste in Italy. The total distance is around 850km with 16000m elevation. Resupply and ferry timetables are important factors to navigate for success on the route. In last year’s edition riders were held up at the Cres ferry terminal for 12hours before it was possible to continue! 

Last year’s winner Justinas Leveika set a blistering result on the course, and it will be interesting to see how riders fair this year with much less rain predicted!
__
Riders to look out for__
Omar Martinello (aka Omero) was a hot favourite for the race, but it appears that he is still recovering from the effort he put in to winning the Quick Bite last weekend and won’t be going ahead with the two races in two weeks that he previously planned.

Rob Britton is a Canadian ex-pro road cyclist who has been diving into the ultradistance racing world over the last few years. He has won Badlands and is fresh from finishing 2nd at the Traka in Catalonia. Rob is clearly a favourite for the win here, but in a race of this distance, and so soon after a mammoth effort at the Traka, there are plenty opportunities for other riders to gain an advantage in the race.

Maya Christofori is one of the 8Bar team riders who are setting out on their snazzy new titanium hardtails with those brightly coloured Gramm bags. 
Giulia Balbinot is another to keep an eye out for. She has recently completed the Tuscany trail and many other long distance bikepacking events and Bruno has said to keep an eye on her Dot at 7SG. 

Marcus Nicolson

Seven Serpents 2024 Tracking and Commentary: A set-route race between seven checkpoints from Slovenia through Croatia and its islands into Trieste, Italy via gravel and secondary roads.

Seven Serpents 2024 Tracking

A set-route race between seven checkpoints from Slovenia through Croatia and its islands into Trieste, Italy via gravel and secondary roads.

Seven Serpents 2024

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