Midnight Sun Gravel

Midnight Sun Gravel is an unsupported bikepacking journey across southern Finland, named for the near-endless light of the Finnish midsummer. Riders leave Helsinki together and then make their own way west to Turku, carrying everything they need and setting their own rhythm of riding and rest, whether racing against the clock with a tracker or touring at an easier pace.

The routes link forest tracks, quiet coastal roads and lakeshores, and the longest swings far east into wild country near the Russian border, where the organiser warns of bear trails. The finale belongs to the Finnish archipelago: riders hop from island to island, with ferry crossings part of the line, before rolling into Turku.

Organised by Alhena from Finland and heading into its eighth edition, the event has drawn riders from well beyond the Nordics: recent winners and record setters have come from Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark and the USA, and route records fell in each of the last three editions.