SUPPORTED BY
Since our founding, we have been actively working to help increase diversity in the bikepacking space and help people from under-represented groups to join us at our events.
The Startline Bursary began with a simple but impactful aim: that bikepacking should be accessible to everyone. The Startline Bursary is built on three core goals; giving back to the community and sport, opening doors to people from under-represented groups, and for us, creating something more than just a bikepacking event.
Since launching in 2021, the Startline Bursary has supported 25 riders on their journey into bikepacking. Each year, we have watched sometimes nervous first-time riders grow into confident and capable people - building their skills, gaining knowledge, and embarking on journeys that once felt out of reach. These stories of personal growth are so important to share with the community – inspiring others to get into bikepacking.
Over the past four years through the Startline Bursary, we have been able to support 25 people attend our events, increasing diversity and representation.
When we first started L’esperit del Bikepacking, we organised ‘experience weekends’ where we took first-time bikepackers on multi-day trips to build confidence and knowledge. When we started organising events, we knew we wanted to continue working to increase diversity and access to the sport. As a result, we created the Startline Bursary, an incitive where we give free entry and financial support to cover travel costs to recipients. Thus enabling people who would otherwise not be able to join an event, to be at the startline. Every year we have people who turn up at our events and defy their expectations of themselves, whether that is by finishing or simply managing to get to the startline, we are continually inspired by them.
The Startline Bursary exists as a platform for opportunity, inspiration, and change for people from under-represented groups in bikepacking. These groups are, including but not limited to; women, ethnic minorities, non-binary, and transgender. By focusing on applications within Europe, we are able to maximise the impact of the support we offer and can help more people to get to the start line of our events, increasing access to and diversity within the sport.
We are excited to see who will be inspiring the bikepacking community through the Startline Bursary in 2027!
STARTLINE BURSARY APPLICATION OPENING DATES
EL SUR: COMING SOON.
EL PIRI: TBC.
The Bursary, along with the experience and knowledge gained from my first ultra bikepacking event, opened my world to wildly exciting new possibilities on the bike.
- Zoë Hyatt, Bursary Recipient 2025
It’s incredible, but I felt like I was a different person than the one at the starting line. I am immensely grateful to El Piri, James, and the entire team behind this event because this experience undoubtedly made me more aware of the fragility of existence, starting with my own.
- Paula Soler, Bursary Recipient 2024