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By Marco Milesi
Adventure cyclist and long-distance travel writer
Photo credit: Marco Milesi

We left the action with Florian (aero man) leading, followed by Jens (the veteran) and Ralph (the record man). During the night the only one to keep on pedaling is the first, going all out till 01:30 in the morning, when he stops for a quick nap. Ralph is the first to get up, and by 04:00am he almost catches Jens. But the veteran has a sixth sense and starts cycling a couple of km before he gets caught by the record man.

Meanwhile, in the background things start to take a defined turn: Yves, Leon, Stefan and Udo all travel at roughly the same speed, rapidly putting some km of distance between them and the big group behind. But they still have a long way to go to catch the leading group.

Time flies, and in the afternoon, also thanks to the tailwind and the generally good weather, the front group is way beyond the middle point of Finland, flying towards checkpoint 1: Helsinki.

At around 3:30pm Leon Koning (5^th position) is involved in an accident and is therefore transported by helicopter to Oulo’s hospital, where he is forced to scratch, postponing what would have been and will be an amazing performance.

As time goes on, at 7:30pm the situation is almost the same as before, except for Jens catching up with Florian: now between the 2 riders there are only 30km. Ralph, instead, falls a bit behind.

At midnight Florian has re-gained all the advantage by pushing through when Jens stopped for sleeping. Now there is only one question that needs and answer: will Florian beat the record set by Stefen Streich to get to Helsinki in 3 days and 20h?

Stay with me to find out, the answer will surprise you.

By Marco Milesi
Adventure cyclist and long-distance travel writer
Photo credit: Andy Buchs

Despite the rainy night, riders continued their journey towards the border with Finland at a sustained pace. Out of all the 75 riders, the lead was taken by Ralph Dizzy, followed by Florian and finally Jens.

This fleeing group is quite heterogeneous and remarkable: Ralph holds the world record for most km cycled in 24h, Florian is trying a new and unprecedented setup (aero bike + only one saddle bag) and Jens is a veteran of ultra-cycling (more than 20 ultra races on his back).

They manage to create some distance from the other riders (roughly 30km), with Jens dropping behind after noon.

By the time they get to the border with Finland, they have no idea what’s coming next. The leading group officially becomes a couple, and the distance from Jens increases to the point of including Leon Koning in the battle for the third place.

The leading group, in the end, splits in two: the original triplet spends the night in Sirkka, having covered roughly 550km, while Leon chooses to stop at Enontekio, about 100km behind. During the night, he gets overtaken by several riders, but they all stop after a couple of dozens km.

“Good night”, that’s what we would say if it wasn’t NorthCape-Tarifa 2026. At exactly 02:20, Florian starts moving again, gaining an impressive 75km of advantage over Jens and Ralph. The last one mentioned is the first one to wake up among the three, followed by Jens after 1h.

Florian keeps pushing till noon, when he is still leading, having consolidated the first position. Jens and Ralph, meanwhile, continue their effort to not drop too behind Florian, followed by Leon.

Things change again when Ralph, at 18, chooses to stop for resting, leaving the leading group. In the meantime, Florian crosses the 1000km mark at 18:45, followed by Jens exactly 1,5h later.

In the last km before midnight, Jens was closing the gap with Florian. Is this the start of a battle? The aero man against the veteran.

On June 20th at 00:01, 75 riders from 30 countries around the world rolled away from the North Cape and began their epic journey south beneath the midnight sun. Of those, 61 riders have set their sights on the ultimate finish line in Tarifa, taking on the full 7,500 km adventure across Europe.

From the midnight sun of the Arctic to the windswept shores of Tarifa, riders will cross multiple countries, cultures, and landscapes in one of the world’s greatest self-supported cycling challenges.

Follow the riders live and watch their progress across the continent on the tracking page:
https://www.northcape-tarifa.com/2026-tracking/

Good luck to all riders — enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!

#northcapetarifa #ncta2026 #endurancecycling #endurance #bikepacking #bikepackinglife #ultracycling #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #longdistancecycling #ciclismo #ultrabicyclerace #cyclinglife #rower #bikelife #cycling #ultraendurancecycling #transbikeadventures #gotthardpass

By Marco Milesi – Adventure cyclist and long-distance travel writer
Photo credit: Andy Buchs, Marco Milesi

The air at the North Cape suddenly becomes freezing cold, as the 75 riders line up for the start exactly in front of the Nordkkaphallen building. It took 2 buses and 4 cargo vans to transport them to the northernmost point of Europe. Rain comes and goes but concedes a halt exactly five minutes before the beginning of Northcape-Tarifa 2026.

The midnight sun shows all its stunning beauty, lighting up both the sky above and the sea below with a light which smells like adventure and lifetime memories. Riders are all set: 72 bikes, 1 velomobile and 2 recumbent bikes.

Helmets on, cleats attached, heart pumping faster, every choice the riders made in recent times brought them here. They are about to witness The Long Way South in the integral version: no shortcuts, no help, full self-sufficient riding.

At exactly 00:01, our storm of cyclists hears the undisputable command which sets the race off: “Vamoos!” pronounced by the mythical Javi from Spain.

A clamping of pedals, gear shifting and clothes brushing one against the other, as the race begins. The velomobile in front rapidly takes the first descent, creating a gap from the rest of the peloton; but it’s just a matter of a couple of minutes, and at the beginning of the first ascent the lighter bikes catch up and overtake the heavier velomobile. There is a group of three leading now, and they are racing each other: is this an unexpected strategy or a beginners’ mistake?

Only time will tell, stay with me to find out.

By Marco Milesi
Adventure cyclist and long-distance travel writer
Photo credit: Thorsten Brömer, Andy Buchs

June 19th, Alta (NO), late afternoon.

Norway from above is quite easy to describe: big chunks of green fields, alternated by smaller clusters of black rectangles and squares. That is it. Everything is wet, everything is cold.

Still, I have never spent so much time looking outside the plane window while landing. I am mesmerized by the dystopian-like scenery that is slowly unveiling beneath me, where clouds are leaving space for water triangles cut into the mainland to appear. The famous fjords are showing all their greatness and ability to provoke a slight sense of fear to me, a small human flying down from the sky onto this beautiful land.

But I am not feeling alone. Just like me, around 80 other people are flying to the same spot on the globe: Alta. And they all have the same event to attend to.
There is a bike race, some say it is the longest in the world, others say it is the toughest, all I know is that in 1 day, exactly at one minute past midnight, 75 riders from 30 different countries will face one of their lifetime adventures.

They will cycle from North Cape (Norway) to Tarifa (Spain), across 15 countries, going through 9 checkpoints, overcoming challenges, unforeseen events, great joys and days full of discomfort and pain along the 7460km route.

There is something magical about humans when they try to push their limits, and the inspiration everyone can get from them is the reason I’m following this race. I will write to you every day, at least once, for the weeks to come.

Nice to meet you, I’m Marco, and this is Northcape-Tarifa 2026.

Message from Jèrôme:

“Going ahead on my trip… I took all the longest alternatives : the journey will be about 4000 kilometers. Today in Trondheim, on the track off Erick Jensen 😉 Here are some pictures.”

Photo credit: Jérôme Deloge

#northcapetarifa #ncta2026 #endurancecycling #endurance #bikepacking #bikepackinglife #ultracycling #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #longdistancecycling #ciclismo #ultrabicyclerace #cyclinglife #rower #bikelife #cycling #ultraendurancecycling #transbikeadventures #gotthardpass

Jérôme and Erik have been riding for several days already on their journey to the start at the North Cape. Jérôme has sent us some photos from along the way, giving us a glimpse of his journey north. Jérôme is riding approximately 3,500 km from home to reach the North Cape before the race begins.

You can follow the riders as they cycle to the start on the live tracking page:
https://www.northcape-tarifa.com/2026-tracking/

Photos credit: Jérôme Deloge

#northcapetarifa #ncta2026 #endurancecycling #endurance #bikepacking #bikepackinglife #ultracycling #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #longdistancecycling #ciclismo #ultrabicyclerace #cyclinglife #rower #bikelife #cycling #ultraendurancecycling #transbikeadventures #gotthardpass

20 days to the start of the NorthCape-Tarifa bicycle adventure. The first riders are on their way to the start by bicycle.

Erik Jensen started his journey in Trondheim May 20th.
Jérôme Deloge started at home May in Belgium May 30th.

You can follow the riders cycling to the start on the tracking:
https://www.northcape-tarifa.com/2026-tracking/

Photos: Erik in Norway.

#northcapetarifa #ncta2026 #endurancecycling #endurance #bikepacking #bikepackinglife #ultracycling #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #longdistancecycling #ciclismo #ultrabicyclerace #cyclinglife #rower #bikelife #cycling #ultraendurancecycling #transbikeadventures #gotthardpass

From Andermatt, the next climb begins: 12 km at an average gradient of 6% up to the summit of the Gotthardpass. From there, riders are rewarded with a spectacular 50 km downhill, descending almost 1900 meters to Biasca in the southern part of Switzerland.

The Gotthardpass has been one of the most important north–south crossings of the Alps for centuries. Today it remains a legendary road for cyclists traveling through the heart of the mountains.

The winter closure of Gotthardpass usually ends in June.

ATTENTION: Only 2 weeks left to register!
https://www.northcape-tarifa.com/register-2026/

Photos: taken Juy 2025, March 2026

#northcapetarifa #ncta2026 #endurancecycling #endurance #bikepacking #bikepackinglife #ultracycling #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #longdistancecycling #ciclismo #ultrabicyclerace #cyclinglife #rower #bikelife #cycling #ultraendurancecycling #transbikeadventures #gotthardpass

Oberalppass is the first mountain pass on the NorthCape–Tarifa route. After entering Switzerland, the route follows the River Rhine all the way to its source at the Oberalppass.

From the summit, a 10 km downhill ride brings riders to Andermatt, a charming and touristic mountain village. Sean Connery once stayed here during the filming of the James Bond movie Goldfinger. The famous writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited Andermatt several times and was fascinated by the region, and the Russian general Alexander Suworow also stayed here in 1799.

The winter closure at Oberalppass usually ends in May, when the road opens again for cyclists and travelers crossing the Alps.

ATTENTION: Only 2 weeks left to register!
https://www.northcape-tarifa.com/register-2026/

Photos: taken March 2026.

#northcapetarifa #ncta2026 #endurancecycling #endurance #bikepacking #bikepackinglife #ultracycling #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #longdistancecycling #ciclismo #ultrabicyclerace #cyclinglife #rower #bikelife #cycling #ultraendurancecycling #transbikeadventures #oberalppass