TransPortugal MTB

TransPortugal MTB crosses the whole country in a week, from the rocky mountains of the north to the beaches of the south. There are no signs or ribbons on the ground: riders follow a GPS track, racing one stage a day through quiet, isolated countryside in self-sufficiency, with no aid stations and no outside help allowed on course.

The terrain mixes forest tracks, gravel roads and steep singletrack along clifftops, and the route changes every year so that returning riders keep discovering new corners of Portugal. Every evening ends at a hotel with dinner and breakfast included, while optional massage, daily bike service and transfers take care of the rest.

The race was first held in 2003, when 20 riders spent 11 days crossing Portugal from north to south. Run by Extreme Discovery, it has since welcomed more than a thousand athletes aged from their twenties to nearly eighty, and some have come back more than ten times.