BikingMan is a French-based organization that organises unstaged, self-supported, ultra distance cycling events, in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It was founded in 2016 by Axel Carion, who came back from cycling across South America in 2015 and wanted to share the experience of cycling unknown places in survival conditions for endurance athletes.
Self-supported ultra cycling The self-supported nature of the BikingMan races makes it different from supported ultra-distance events like the Race Across America (RAAM), in which each racer has a large support crew with multiple vehicles and where pure performance cycling is needed to finish these races. The carbon footprint of the races are kept to a minimum, support cars outside BikingMan organizations media cars, are strictly forbidden.
Being self-supported means that drafting is not allowed, receiving any form of support from other racers, friends, or family is not allowed; all food, accommodation, repairs, etc., must be purchased from commercial sources if they can find any on the road. The organizer provides a mandatory route, a GPS tracker to monitor each participant's progress and prevent cheating, as well as a road book. Riders must strategically choose how much time to devote to riding, resting, and refueling each day.
It is not a stage race, the clock never stops from the moment the riders leave the start to the moment that they reach the finish. Orienteering plays a major role as most of the races' locations are unknown to most participants.
Rules of BikingMan races The complete rule set is available in the race manual of every race. Athletes are self-supported and need to handle their fueling, repairs and rest during the race All athletes must ride from the start location to the finish location while crossing the mandatory checkpoints in the right order Every athlete needs to stamp her/his progression at every staffed checkpoint in the opening time windows Drafting and riding as a pack are forbidden Every athlete needs to carry a GPS tracking system to trace her/his progression External assistance of any kind is forbidden No support cars are allowed SOLO or pair riders can attempt the races
How to follow the race BikingMan events are all covered by a limited number of media cars from the organization. The events are therefore presented live on social networks, namely the Instagram and Facebook accounts of the organization. During races, and on a daily basis, a story-based article is published on the Exposure page of the organization, as well as an additional article for the leaderboard once the race is completed. All participants are equipped with a GPS tracker, which allows to share their position on a live-tracking website.
Season 2017 In 2017 was held the first BikingMan event; the IncaDivide race, which took 17 athletes in the Andes mountains of Ecuador and Peru. A brutal race where the main challenge for every racer was to battled against high altitude cycling conditions of the Andes.
Calendar of the races Race Name Start location Finish location Dates Distance (km) Total elevation gain (m) Mandatory Checkpoints Time limit IncaDivide 2017 Quito (Ecuador) Cuzco (Peru) July 1, 2017 3500 63000 4 25 days600 hours
Results Race Name Starters Finishers 1st Female 1st Male 1st Pair IncaDivide 2017 17 6 Yoshie Yabu (Japan) in 24d7h Rodney Soncco (Peru) in 16d21h N/A
Season 2018 In 2018, BikingMan introduced the 1st ultra cycling championship which gathered athletes from around the globe to race the Hajar mountains of Oman, across the Andes Cordillera of Peru with IncaDivide race, around Corsica and in Taiwan.
On the "Sprint" BikingMan 2018 races (Oman and Corsica), base camps were built at the checkpoints where athletes could rest. Compulsory stops at staffed checkpoints ensure athletes timestamp their progression, validate their physical state and eventually scratch the athletes who don't respect the closing times of every checkpoint.
Calendar of the races Race Name Format Start location Finish location Dates Distance (km) Total elevation gain (m) Mandatory Checkpoints Time limit BikingMan Oman 2018 Sprint Barka city (Oman) Old Muscat (Oman) February 25, 2018 1050 7500 3 5 days120 hours BikingMan Corsica 2018 Sprint Bastia (Corsica) Bastia (Corsica) April 29, 2018 700 13000 3 5 days120 hours IncaDivide 2018 Divide Trujillo (Peru) Trujillo (Peru) July 1, 2018 1800 31000 4 12 days288 hours BikingMan Taiwan 2018 Sprint Taipei (Taiwan) Taipei (Taiwan) October 22, 2018 1150 18000 3 5 days120 hours
Results Race Name Starters Finishers 1st Female 1st Male 1st Pair BikingMan Oman 2018 44 34 Juliana Buhring (Germany) in 49h53min Rodney Soncco (Peru) in 46h17min Oman Cycling (Mohamed Al Chandoubi/Hatem Al Booshri) (Oman) in 71h30min BikingMan Corsica 2018 83 59 Ivana Furlan (Italy) in 40h24min Mikael Flockhart (Sweden) in 29h35min Antony Duriani / Loic Leonardi Giacometti (Corsica) in 45h41min IncaDivide 2018 35 22 N/A Rodney Soncco (Peru) in 127h22min Yanis Hernandez / Eddy Marquez (Venezuela) in 221h34min BikingMan Taiwan 2018 28 23 Perrine Fages (France) in 119h32min Rodney Soncco (Peru) in 57h58min Romain Level / Simon Noel (France) in 81h30min
2018 Championship ranking Participants enter the season ranking once they have completed, as finishers, 2 BikingMan series races.
Position Female Rider Male Rider Pair Riders 1st Perrine Fages (France) Rodney Soncco (Peru) Mohamed Al Chandoubi / Hatem Al Booshri (Oman) 2nd N/A Niel Copeland (UK) Reinhard Mink / Anne Wursthorn (Germany) 3rd N/A Michelangelo Pacifico (Italy) N/A 4th N/A Robbie Ferri (UK) N/A 5th N/A Marcus Leach (UK) N/A 6th N/A Marco Beligni (Italy) N/A 7th N/A Marcel Esser (Netherlands) N/A 8th N/A Rodrigue Lombard (France) N/A 9th N/A Xavier Massart (Belgium) N/A 10th N/A Fabian Burri (Switzerland) N/A
Season 2019 The 2019 season introduced 2 new events: Laos in May, and Portugal in September, bringing the series to a total of 6 events, all parts of the 2019 championship.
Calendar of the races
Race Name Format Start location Finish location Dates Distance (km) Total elevation gain (m) Mandatory Checkpoints Time limit BikingMan Oman 2019 Sprint Barka city (Oman) Old Muscat (Oman) February 24, 2019 1035 7200 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Corsica 2019 Sprint Biguglia (Corsica) Biguglia (Corsica) April 29, 2019 700 13000 3 5 days120 hours BikingMan Laos 2019 Sprint Luang Prabang (Laos) Luang Prabang (Laos) May 20, 2019 780 11000 2 5 days120 hours IncaDivide 2019 Divide Trujillo (Peru) Trujillo (Peru) August 14, 2019 1650 23500 3 10 days240 hours BikingMan Portugal 2019 Sprint Faro (Portugal) Faro (Portugal) September 23, 2019 950 10000 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Taiwan 2019 Sprint Taipei (Taiwan) Taipei (Taiwan) November 4, 2019 1150 18000 2 5 days120 hours
Results
Race Name Starters Finishers 1st Female 1st Male 1st Pair BikingMan Oman 2019 75 69 Jasmijn Muller (Netherlands ) in 45h37 Rodney Soncco (Peru ) in 38h17min Cristian Auriemma (Italy ) / Jeff Webb (Canada ) in 58h59min BikingMan Corsica 2019 67 61 Helle Bachofen Von Echt Muller (Denmark ) in 41h03 Rodney Soncco (Peru ) in 30h52min Hatim Al Booshri & Mohammed Al Shandoudi (Oman ) in 40h07min BikingMan Laos 2019 15 11 N/A Jason Black (Ireland ) in 51h52min Romain Level & Simon Noel (France ) in 69h10min BikingMan Peru / IncaDivide 2019 44 12 N/A Sofiane Sehili (France ) in 135h35min Victoria De Sa & Bruno Rosa (Brazil ) in 210h09min BikingMan Portugal 2019 75 64 Helle Bachofen Von Echt (Denmark ) in 62h40 Romain Wartel (France ) in 40h12min Hatim Al Booshri & Mohammed Al Shandoudi (Oman ) in 56h30 BikingMan Taiwan 2019 22 14 Julie Melville (Canada ) in 114h41 Bryce Bénat (France ) in 71h47min Cristian Auriemma (Italy ) / Jeff Webb (Canada ) in 74h16
2019 Series Ranking Final 2019 Rankings after the race in Taiwan - as of November 15, 2019.
Participants enter the season ranking once they have completed, as finishers, 2 BikingMan races
Current Rank Female Category Male Category Pair Category 1st Rank Helle Bachofen Von Echt (Denmark ) Rodney Sonnco (Peru ) Hatim AL BOOSHRI & Mohammed AL SHANDOUDI (Oman ) 2nd Rank Julie Melville (Canada ) Guillaume Chaumont (Belgium ) Jeff Webb (Canada ) & Cristian Auriemma (Italy ) 3rd Rank Eleonora Balbi (Switzerland ) Jonas Deichmann (Germany ) Musaab AL BOOSHRI & Mshari AL KHALILI (Oman )
Season 2020 The 2020 season will be composed of 6 events with new routes unveiled on Oman, Corsica, Peru and Laos. Brazil will be part of the series for its first time. The crown jewel event incadivide will unveil a course in the sacred valley of the Incas around Cusco city.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Following the global pandemic and many locked-down countries, the race calendar has been modified by the race organisation to adapt to the situation with the races in Brazil, Peru and Laos canceled, while the 2020 edition of BikingMan Corsica, initially scheduled for April 2020, is planned for October 2020. The 2020 series will therefore be composed of 3 events out of the 6 initially planned.
Calendar of the races
Race Name Format Start location Finish location Dates Distance (km) Total elevation gain (m) Mandatory Checkpoints Time limit BikingMan Oman 2020 Sprint Muscat (Oman) Muscat (Oman) February 22, 2020 1,060 8,700 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Portugal 2020 Sprint Faro (Portugal) Faro (Portugal) September 21, 2020 950 12,000 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Corsica 2020 Sprint Bigulia (Corsica) Biguglia (Corsica) October 26, 2020 850 15,000 2 5 days120 hoursBikingMan Brazil 2020SprintTaubaté (Brazil) Taubaté (Brazil) Canceled1,00017,00025 days120 hoursIncaDivide 2020 Divide Cusco (Peru) Cusco (Peru) Canceled 1,600 38,000 3 14 days336 hours BikingMan Laos 2020 Sprint Luang Prabang (Laos) Luang Prabang (Laos) Canceled 920 17,000 2 5 days120 hours
Results
Race Name Starters Finishers 1st Female 1st Male 1st Pair BikingMan Oman 2020 80 67 Elizabeth Dunne (Ireland ) in 70h47 Laurent Boursette (France ) in 43h36min Cristian Auriemma (Italy ) / Jeff Webb (Canada ) in 53h32min BikingMan Portugal 2020 66 60 Nadia Chenaoui (France ) in 78h07 Laurent Boursette (France ) in 37h33min Cédrick Guerin / Christophe Gouyon (France ) in 58h51min BikingMan Corsica 2020 116 99 Nathalie Baillon (France ) in 59h08 Anthony Duriani (France ) in 55h15min Bruno Laval / Julien Merle (France ) in 73h38min
Season 2021 The 2021 season has been announced with 7 events focusing mostly on Europe (4 events in France + Portugal) + Brazil and Oman. Brazil will be part of the series for its first time after the canceled 2020 edition.
Calendar of the races
Race Name Format Start location Dates Distance (km) Total elevation gain (m) Mandatory Checkpoints Time limit BikingMan Corsica 2021 Sprint Biguglia (Corsica) April 26, 2021 1,000 18,000 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Brazil 2021 Sprint Taubaté (Brazil) May 16, 2021 1,000 17,500 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan AURA 2021 Sprint Valence (France) May 24, 2021 1,000 19,500 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan France 2021 Sprint Le Cannet (France) June 21, 2021 1,000 20,000 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Euskadi 2021 Sprint Bayonne (France) Sept 6, 2021 1,000 23,000 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Portugal 2021 Sprint Algarve (Portugal) Oct 4, 2021 1,000 15,000 2 5 days120 hours BikingMan Oman 2021 Sprint Not Revealed yet (Oman) Q4 2021 1,000 Not revealed yet 2 5 days120 hours
References
Links (en) official site (en) calendar of the BikingMan races (en) BikingMan Instagram channel (en) Instagram channel of the IncaDivide race (en) official Facebook page (en) Facebook page of the IncaDivide race (en) Blog of Rob Packham, participant (fr) Blog of Xavier Massart, participant (pt) Blog of Vinicius Martin, participant