The Event
L’Esperit de Girona is a solo and unsupported off-road bikepacking event.
The event starts on Saturday 7th September 2024.
Starting and finishing in Girona, the route covers approximately 800 kilometers and features 28,000 meters of climbing.
The event is hard. It will test riders to their mental and physical limits. The fastest will struggle to crack four days yet there will be no time cut off for the slowest riders.
The 2023 edition of the event saw its first ever finisher, with six riders managing to make the full course and finish back in Girona.
The Name
Spirit; An animating or vital principle; the immaterial or sentient element of a person.
Esperit is the Catalan word for spirit.
It is through challenging ourselves that we can learn to push beyond our comfort zone and find what we are really capable of. This event aims to take riders on a journey of both physical and mental exploration, allowing them to grow beyond cycling.
The event was proudly conceived in the hills of Catalunya, an autonomous region located in North-Eastern Spain and one of the world’s great cycling destinations. Stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pyrenees, Catalunya offers unbeatable cycling and a warm culture.
The ancient city of Girona is a world-renowned cycling city, home to dozens of professional cyclists and exceptional riding terrain.
What to expect
The route has been painstakingly pieced together from scratch by ultra-endurance cyclist James Hayden. Drawing on his many years of experience competing in the world’s toughest bike-packing races, this event will take riders on a journey through some of the most amazing riding that the province of Girona has to offer.
The course is hard, but it is designed to be rewarding and fun.
Most gravel roads in Catalunya are ungraded so expect rough rather than smooth. The course is neither pure gravel nor true mountain bike.
Autumn weather in Catalunya is typically sunny and warm with cool nights. Be prepared though as a section of the course climbs above 2,000m where early season snow fall is a real possibility.
Is it for me?
If you want a seriously fulfilling challenge, this is it.
This event is suited for seasoned riders or those with good experience in other disciplines.
You will be well qualified if you have finished: Silk Road Mountain Race, Highland Trail 550, Hope 1000, Tour Divide, Colorado Trial Race, Arizona Trail Race, Strathpuffer, Badlands, Atlas Mountain Race, Italy Divide or other similar events.
If you have started but not finished an off-road event, please enter, we have seen people like you finish.
There are small periods of pushing and even carrying your bike, so if you despise taking your bike for a walk this event is not for you. Open-minded riders will discover it is worth the toil.
Technical mountain bike skills are not essential however a little will be useful on occasion. If you are lacking, you can simply walk a little more.
Equipment
The route is nearly all off-road. The terrain is sometimes rough and occasionally un-rideable.
The course has been scouted on both a hardtail mountain bike and a drop bar gravel bike.
XC type tires wider than 45mm would be wise.
A hardtail will be fun.
Comfortable shoes are highly recommended.
