By Marco Milesi
Adventure cyclist and long-distance travel writer
Photo credit: Marco Milesi, Andy Buchs
It has been one week since NorthCape-Tarifa 2026 started in Norway on June 20 2026. So far, this edition has already marked itself as full of records and unexpected events.
The seventh day is no exception. As the riders cycle towards South, the weather gets warmer, and finally, once docked in Tallin, the normal day-night light cycle is restored. At midnight, when the only light shining is the one of the moon, none of the three riders at the front of the race are moving. More specifically, Florian stands alone in first position with a whopping advantage of roughly 300km, followed by both Ralph and Jens resting in the same spot: Jurbarkas in Lithuania.
At 4am, Aero man (Florian) and Ralph (Record man) start cycling again towards the next checkpoint, followed by Jens some time later. The last two are able to keep a sustained pace and re-gain part of the lost terrain from the first, keeping an attentive eye on Yves (fourth position) who reaches the Hill of Crosses checkpoint at 9am.
Meanwhile, the French couple (Benoit and Patrick) start to put some distance in their legs after a slow start in Norway and Finland. They are getting back on track for their objective of reaching Nice in 15 days.
At 4:30pm Florian reaches the checkpoint number 3: Torun in Poland. A slight tailwind and a very sunny and hot weather have accompanied him in this amazing race so far. Both Ralph and Jens take advantage of tailwind, reducing distance with Aero man to about 200km by 7:30pm.
At midnight, when everything is covered in dark, this is the situation: Florian still moving, Ralph and Jens standing still at 230km of distance from him, increasing. Yves, meanwhile, finds himself at about 200km from the now resting couple of riders in second and third position.
