NorthCape4000 Edition VII
4000 km of Absolute Splendor through 7 Nations
Registrations for Edition VII 2024 will open on 1 December 2023, Slots are Limited.
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Rovereto / Start
- Muenchen / Gate 1
- Berlin / Gate 2
- Copenhagen / Gate 3
- Rovaniemi / Gate 4
North Cape / Finish
NorthCape4000 Edition VII
Hundreds of different stories, new protagonists from all over the world, and the most beautiful Europe you’ve ever dreamed of. Nothing is like the NorthCape4000, and each edition is an original score that cannot be replicated. Ask those who have already participated, and you’ll discover that this is the adventure of a lifetime.
Famous worldwide, the NorthCape4000 is not just a sporting event, but a game-changer and a human experience so powerful that it truly changes people’s lives.
Here it doesn’t matter who you are at home. For a couple of weeks you have the extraordinary opportunity to leave behind your role, your duties and your commitments, returning to being the essence of who you are: a Human Being. Together with people aged 18 to 75, we will make you experience something you have never seen before.
The first pedal strokes, and Rovereto is already behind you. Ahead, there are 180 kilometers and about 1000 meters of climbing to reach the sign that bids farewell to Italy and welcomes Austria at the top of the Brenner Pass. Take a moment to refresh, snap some photos, and proudly mark the first border crossing in your journey. Then, with pure joy like children holding cotton candy, enjoy the exhilarating descent that takes you all the way to Innsbruck in Tyrol, covering a distance of 45 kilometers.
Green meadows, postcard-worthy valleys, and remote mountain huts scattered here and there in the surrounding mountains. The descent into Innsbruck is as sweet as honey. You’ll stroll curiously through the elegant Tyrolean city and then quickly connect with a silver ribbon known as the River Inn. A discreet companion with ice-colored waters, it will be along the banks of this sparkling river, crossing romantic wooden bridges, that you’ll truly savor the relaxing Austrian landscape. Small roads winding their way through vast green meadows, colorful balconies adorned with petunias, and tempting bakeries enticing you in every village.
The school bell rings, and it’s time to return to class. The plain fades away, and in front of you, a spectacular ascent awaits, leading you to Mittenwald, in the heart of the Alps, precisely on the border between Austria and Germany. It may seem impossible, but you’re already at the doorstep of the third nation. You’ve seen dozens of enchanting places, but the scent and charm of Bavaria allow you to bid farewell to Austria without too many regrets. It’s here, in this undulating landscape that passes through tiny countryside villages fragrant with butter and jam, that you’ll begin to savor the satisfaction of having conquered the first stamp at Gate number 1 of the NorthCape4000 Edition VII: Munich, Bavaria.
Rivers of beer at MarienPlatz, ordered beauty, and vast green parks to rest your eyes, but Munich, the Bavarian capital, is much more than that. Having conquered the first stamp at the checkpoint gate, it’s time to set off again, leaving the majestic English Garden behind and heading north.
The winding Bavarian countryside now leads you through an uninterrupted procession of sun-drenched wheat fields and small forests shrouded in shadows, welcoming you to the Free State of Saxony. This region, the wealthiest in the former East Germany, is nicknamed “Silicon Saxony” for its technological prowess. It’s a satisfying road experience that you’ll only interrupt for a frosty beer and some conversation with your fellow travelers.
Just 1000 kilometers, and you’ll enter one of the most modern and carefree European capitals you can imagine. You’ll pass by the world’s most famous zoo, then the Victory Column and the Brandenburg Gate with its poetic Hotel Adlon, once a free haven for spies and love stories, and finally, the iconic Alexander Platz.
Here, everything is history, everything is charm. Berlin, the only city in the world that has lived two lives and embodied two identities, is the new shining star of NorthCape4000 Edition VII.
With the second checkpoint stamp at the Brandenburg Gate, you’ll finally have time to savor a succulent currywurst and a cold weiss beer while inside you, like the most powerful of fluids, you’ll begin to feel a strange awareness, the kind that belongs to those who, against all odds, have managed to conquer the world at their feet. It’s a sensation that only dreamers and adventurers are fortunate enough to experience. Because in the end, believe us, the NorthCape4000 is exactly that : an extraordinary human experience that turns an impossible vision into reality. You’re here for this.
There are still 240 kilometers to go, but now there’s a new and refreshing scent in the air that sweeps across the whole of Mecklenburg and arrives from Rostock. Powerful like the call of the Sirens is the penetrating and somewhat murky essence of the Baltic Sea. It’s a unique panorama that speaks with the voice of the wind and the seagulls that cry in the sky, while behind you, lost in the foam of the ship taking you to Denmark, Germany fades away.
If you thought you were participating in a simple event like many others, you’ll instead be captivated by an adventure lived and narrated like few exist on Earth, a human experience that will lead you to travel on the road, yes, but even more so within yourself.
Something that will stay with you forever.
Just a couple of hours of sailing, but enough to relax on board the ship and mentally revisit, alongside your fellow travelers, the kilometers already covered on your journey. Here we are finally in Denmark, the first Scandinavian country on the route to the North Cape.
It’s precisely in this part of the world that the fairy tale of the NorthCape4000 becomes a reality. 300 people from all over the world marvel together at a beauty that, back home, we often can’t touch due to the breakneck speed of our lives or because we are simply tainted by trivial matters.
The Danish countryside is an ideal of beauty and civilization that touches the soul and heart. Vast farms, poetic meadows reminiscent of Montana, and open spaces for your tires to race across. You’ve already covered a third of the track, and the tires of your bike, like the charm of wrinkles on the faces of fishermen, bear the marks of time and the elements. The value of your endeavor is everywhere, even in the details.
The splendid city of Copenhagen, overlooking the spectacular Øresund Strait, the stretch of sea that separates Denmark from Sweden, with its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, and the characteristic bars that come alive with aperitifs in the Nyhavn harbor, welcomes you to Gate number 3 of Edition VII 2024. A magnificent sight to behold.
After bidding farewell to fascinating Copenhagen, you now traverse stretches of Danish countryside swept by the fragrant northern winds, headed to Helsingør to catch the ferry that will take you to Sweden, to Helsingborg, just 30 minutes of navigation.
Now, try to imagine a land of pristine and crystal-clear bodies of water, where endless cloud cover turns the sky into a perpetual and hypnotic expanse that stretches endlessly toward the horizon. Hours of daylight that lengthen, and a night that, kilometer after kilometer, fades away, retreats, beats a retreat. The journey to the Great North is a bath of light that warms the soul and body, and you won’t be able to do without it.
Sweden, an ideal place to find balance and reconnect with nature, will above all allow you to rest your mind and think about your life in ways you never did back home. It’s the special gift of the NorthCape4000, an opportunity to reassign priorities to the things that truly matter, a special moment where everything can be reconsidered and valued.
From Helsingborg to Hudiksvall, spanning 900 kilometers of forests and majestic natural landscapes, these are the scenes that will delight your eyes before you see the sea again.
Let’s talk about the Gulf of Bothnia, the welcoming sea that separates Sweden from Finland, with its temperate climate and the pungent scent of moss, a companion that warms your days in the spirit of freedom. After 1500 kilometers of fantastic Swedish coastline dotted with picturesque villages, idyllic inlets, and romantic bays illuminated by the Northern light, it’s time to enter the land of a thousand lakes: Finland. You’ll cover 125 fabulous kilometers, and you’ll be a completely new person when, on your bike, you pass beyond the sign that reads in Sami language, “wooded hill,” or in Finnish, “pile of stones.” It’s Rovaniemi, the gateway to the Arctic Circle and the location of Gate number 4 of NorthCape4000 Edition VII.
Surrounding you, everywhere, nature speaks to you and comforts you, making this adventure the kind of mystical experience that only a few people in the world are able to have while riding a bicycle. Around you, most of all, there is Lapland, a land of legends and ancestral rhythms where even today life follows the rhythms of nature and the elements.
Now, there are only 700 kilometers left to the North Cape, and that dream that seemed impossible becomes more real with each passing day.
Parallel 66° and pennies, the entrance to the Arctic Circle
The road that takes you and your bike from Rovaniemi, after 700 kilometers, to the terrace of the North Cape, the last stretch of land before the North Pole, deserves to be included in UNESCO World Heritage Sites for how beautiful, dramatic, and extraordinary it is. It’s up here at the top of the world, amid endless forests, Sami villages, and ancient frontier outposts, that the greatest wonders of the entire NorthCape4000 unfold.
Sodankylä, Saariselkä, Inari. A procession of dreamlike places that you’ll see bathed in the warm rays of the Midnight Sun during your adventure but that later, in the darkness of the long Arctic winter, will become temples of skiing, venues for sled dog races, and igloo shelters, all under the hypnotic dance of the Northern Lights.
At Lakselv, right at the entrance of the Porsangerfjord, the landscape undergoes a radical transformation. You find yourself in a natural paradise of rare beauty where everything, from the surrounding atmosphere to the colors of the land and the sky, speaks of one thing and one thing only: the End of the World. The landscape is lunar, wild, and primordial. Around you, on the road, families of reindeer gaze at you peacefully and curiously as you continue north on your bike.
Lost in a dense carpet of yellow-green moss, next to the road, you spot tiny settlements where small communities of Arctic fishermen live. The northern wind dries the fishing nets, and the crystal-clear scent of the Arctic air fills your lungs, along with the earthy aroma of seaweed. With each twist and turn, sublime vistas reveal themselves before you, so breathtaking that you didn’t think they could exist: it’s the Arctic, in its most beautiful and welcoming form, the summer version.
You cross these fairytale lands bathed in a continuous 24-hour daylight. The phenomenon of the Midnight Sun, a natural spectacle you now have the fortune to experience, enchants you and often makes you wonder if you are living a beautiful dream or if the reality surrounding you is indeed true.
The kilometers pass quickly, and with each glimpse of the cobalt blue of the Barents Sea, you feel the pull of a destination, the North Cape, which meter by meter, like a powerful magnet, attracts you, becoming more and more real, defined, and concrete.
You are about 40 kilometers from the North Cape. In front of you is the tunnel that leads to Mageroya, the island where the North Cape is located. The Nordkapp Tunnel is not just an awe-inspiring engineering feat, but you will see it with your own eyes, it represents a true passage, both physical and symbolic, that separates those who in life limit themselves to dreaming from those, like you, who decide to turn dreams into reality.
Inside the tunnel, you’ll feel like you’re on the set of the movie “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” and before regaining the daylight, you’ll feel like brave pioneers venturing where others stop. After 6 kilometers, you’ll finally see the blinding Arctic light again, comforting as a warm blanket.
On your bicycle, you’ve traversed an entire continent, and now, in front of you, against the backdrop of a stunning fjord overlooking the sea, lies the sweetest, most sublime part yet to conquer.
You and your bike are now on the island of Mageroya. And yes, we know that right now this name might not mean much to you, but we guarantee that in a few months, when this wild island at the edge of the world welcomes you, it will mean everything.
It is indeed at this precise geographical coordinate that your life will be reborn and forever changed. Emotion, pride, and immense happiness, typical of those who have the courage to fulfill their desires, emotions that will never leave you.
To your right, the profiles of a small village and Arctic fishing boats at rest in the harbor of Honningsvag pass by. It’s the northernmost town in the world, a welcoming place in summer and an authentic outpost that battles the elements during the endless Arctic winter. Here, crab and cod fishing are lifestyles, not just jobs.
Refreshed from a pleasant stop in this splendid town, it’s now time to face the last 30 kilometers of winding roads that lead you to the Globe at the North Cape.
Breathtaking views and hairpin turns that wind through massive rock walls, reindeer grazing, and raucous families of Arctic terns screaming in the sky, the last kilometers toward the Globe are an exciting rollercoaster that, meter by meter, offers you the best that the Arctic can offer. Skarsvag, another tiny outpost with campsites and a romantic restaurant serving crab, passes by. It’s the last stop before your arrival.
The stakes are high, as is the profile of the road. Pristine and crystal-clear lakes dot the island’s plateau as you, on your bike, continue forward, enjoying the priceless view from above of the Arctic Ocean.
You are alive, and incredibly fortunate.
Ahead of you, with the road now taking shape in the background of the final kilometers, there’s the last promontory, and in the distance, look closely, a sign appears, first blurry and then increasingly clear, with a word written on it that now and forever belongs only to you: Nordkapp.
You have done something damn special just for yourselves. You’ve decided to elevate yourself to the next level, and after crossing an entire continent on your bike, here’s your reward: not just Nordkapp, which, thanks to its charm and beauty, will forever be with you like a tattoo, but above all the sensation and the awareness, priceless and now truly yours, of feeling capable of reaching the most ambitious and distant goals and objectives when others don’t even see them.
Not a day will pass, from the moment you complete this incredible life-changing adventure, when you won’t want to be up there again, in the company of the Northern light and wind, with yourself and your life.
It has been this way for us and for the thousands of people in previous editions, and it will be the same for you.
Time windows Edition VII
Conceived to offer all cycling and adventure enthusiasts the opportunity to experience an extraordinary human adventure, the NorthCape4000 has always been open to different philosophies and performances since its inception. In 2024, you will continue to have the freedom to ride the route with maximum flexibility and can reach the North Cape even after the expiration of the useful time window, enjoying the event and its magical atmosphere in every aspect, regardless of your schedule.
However, you should know that to earn the title of Finisher of the 2024 Edition VII, you will need to respect both a minimum departure time, which in Edition VII will be set at Gate 4 in Rovaniemi, and a maximum time within which to complete the entire route to the North Cape.
Every year, we invest a significant amount of resources and time to ensure the highest quality standards for the event, and this, above all else, concerns the safety of our participants. Time windows have been introduced with the dual purpose of increasing the shared experience among participants and preventing the coverage of distances incompatible with safety and the spirit of the event.
Minimum departure time at Gate 4 in Rovaniemi:
You can arrive in Rovaniemi at any time, but you won’t be able to depart from Gate 4 until July 30, 2024 (so you can depart at midnight and one minute as soon as July 30 begins – there is 24-hour daylight available in Rovaniemi at the time of the event). Once you’ve met the time limit at Gate 4 and once you’ve departed from Rovaniemi heading to the North Cape, you will be completely free to arrive at the North Cape whenever you desire.
Maximum time at the North Cape:
At the same time, for purely organizational reasons, we have established a maximum time to complete the route and be registered as a Finisher from several editions. For the 2024 Edition VII, the maximum time to qualify as a Finisher of the event is set at 11:59 pm on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
In any case, rest assured that whatever your arrival time, you will all experience something epic and memorable that you will share with hundreds of people from around the world.
Gates Edition VII
For the 2024 Edition VII of the NorthCape4000, there are four control gates along the route. These gates are strategically positioned in areas of geographical, natural, or cultural importance. At each gate, participants will be required to validate their route. If, for any reason, one or more gates are missed, the participant will be automatically disqualified.
The four control gates scheduled for the 2024 Edition VII are:
G1 – Munich (Germany)
G2 – Berlin (Germany)
G3 – Copenhagen (Denmark)
G4 – Rovaniemi (Finland)
Ferries Edition VII
In Edition VII, we have minimized the sea crossings and selected routes with higher daily frequency.
The only ferries / boats allowed during Edition VII 2024 of the NorthCape4000, to be booked at the complete discretion of the participants, are as follows:
Rostock (Germany) – Gedser (Denmark) – approximately 2 hours in duration
Helsingør (Denmark) / Helsingborg (Sweden) – approximately 30 minutes
All other sea routes are prohibited.
Registrations for Edition VII 2024 will open on 1 December 2023, Slots are Limited.
Subscribe to the Newsletter and receive a Notification for the Opening of Subscriptions.
A Unique Event in the World, for many reasons.
With thousands of sports events worldwide, all promising unique experiences but often turning out to be mere copies of each other, it wasn’t easy to create something that could truly provide a completely new, all-encompassing experience capable of profoundly touching people’s lives. We succeeded in 2017 when the NorthCape4000 was born. An event that today, on the cusp of its seventh edition, is the most participated UltraDistance cycling adventure in the world, attracting people from 50 countries.
The Extraordinary Nature, the safety of the routes, a concept of Beauty that often escapes the understanding of those preparing to participate, and real-time storytelling that allows everyone, both participants and enthusiasts watching from home, to follow the event with engagement and emotion. These are just some of the reasons why the NorthCape4000 is so Special, Unique, and Inimitable.
You will pedal alongside peaceful reindeer families kissed by the perpetual light of the Arctic summer and the rays of the Midnight Sun. You will experience the thrill of crossing ancestral territories like Lapland and majestic ones like the Alps. A magnificent geographical evolution awaits you, where, kilometer after kilometer and on your bicycle, you will feel the mystical and increasingly powerful call of the Great North vibrating on your skin.
An extraordinary and unique route in every edition, which only comes to light after hundreds of hours spent on maps and in territories throughout Europe, with the sole purpose of taking you and your bicycle to the most beautiful, safe, and unforgettable places on the continent. You will share this Grand Experience with people from all over the world, and thanks to what you will have the privilege of experiencing together, you will become friends and, in some cases, brothers and sisters.
A parenthesis of Freedom that encompasses an unrepeatable Human and Sporting Experience that has had an incredibly powerful impact on the lives of people worldwide every year since its inception.
Expect the best, this is the NorthCape4000
Athletes, Randonneurs and simple Enthusiasts.
NorthCape4000. Tailored Adventure.
All adventure seekers and bikepacking lovers should be able to live an extraordinary experience as the conquest of the Arctic Circle while riding a bicycle. For this reason, at the NorthCape4000, the most participated UltraCycling Bikepacking Adventure in the World,there is space and freedom for different performance and philosophies.
Athletes who are able to ride for 300km a day or two-wheeled adventurers who dream of a campfire under a sky streaked with a thousand stars, the NorthCape4000 guarantees each participant to be able to live and share terrific experience from all points of view, and each with their own approach.
You all will start together from Rovereto and only you will decide whether and with whom to share your way. Furthermore, you will have complete responsibility for all the other aspects of the challenge, from the management of the stages and the place where you rest up to the bike setup and the best equipment to deal with the distance and the incredible variety of landscapes and conditions that you will encounter towards North Cape.
In the 2024 Edition VII, you will have to follow a fixed route, which is the same for all participants and provided directly by the organization. A carefully studied track will accompany you through 7 nations and 3800 km, until you reach North Cape.
For all these reasons, in addition to the beauty of what you’ll see, the NorthCape4000 is a challenge that brings with it a wealth of experience and autonomy unparalleled in the bikepacking world.
So, for whatever reason you decide to be at the start on July 20, 2024, we guarantee that you will return more aware and mature, with many unforgettable stories and experiences.
The Experience of Life
The only event in the world, among the Ultra-Distance Bicycle Adventures, to start regularly in 2021, the NorthCape4000 is not just a sporting event, but an indelible experience that will accompany you for a long time and that you will treasure every day, probably for the rest of your life. Ask who has already participated and discover why this is the reference event in the World of UltraCycling.
Far away from the “races” and fanaticism that now spoil every corner of the sport world, at NorthCape4000, you come to run or enjoy the journey, the choice is yours, but with respect, a fair play and a desire to have fun that unite all our participants and that you will not find in any other bikepacking event.
Then, it’s up to you to cycle with your eyes glued to the front wheel or to cycle in dreamlike scenarios with fellow bikers who make the difference.
The Route
We don’t draw a line from A to B and we don’t find our tracks on the internet or on travel forums. Every year, the NorthCape4000 staff creates a completely new event, in numbers and route, which is planned thanks to dozens of hours of study on maps through the most advanced map-making and the most accurate field research. Every year, we bring new faces, atmospheres and suggestions of an ever-changing Europe able to excite you and make you feel like pioneers even in the age of smartphones. Every year, we take you to an unparalleled place making everything terribly Special.
Media coverage. The Pedigree of the NorthCape4000
According to the data, in the Bikepacking world, there is no covered and followed event like the NorthCape4000. If you have sporting ambitions, need for visibility or simply want to feel at the centre of a fantastic story told live from all over Europe, we are waiting for you. We provide for two service cars, Polar 1 & Polar 2, that beat the entire European continent with a permanent staff of 8 people following the participants. They are equipped with the latest and high-performance media equipment producing daily contributions and reaching a wide public that hit almost 600.000 people (website & social channels) in 146 countries of the world at the fourth Edition.
With a heavy expense budget dedicated to each edition, you will be certain, by participating, to take part in a unique event organized by the best sports management currently in circulation in the Bikepacking world.
Copywriters, videomakers, photographers, social media managers, cartography experts, and, first and foremost, Adventurers : that’s our staff.
The world of the two-wheeled adventure had never seen anything so structured and professional, for this reason, every year, the NorthCape4000 offers memories that are not erased
North Cape : The home of NorthCape4000
The North Cape or Nordkapp in Norwegian, or Davvenjárga in Northern Sami, is a cape on the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway. Lying within the Arctic Circle, here is a land of such magnificence, of such breathtaking beauty that it arouses the senses, fires the imagination and yet it can also be a harsh land, where mother nature can show both her tranquil and her malevolent side.
A fitting destination for adventurers, travellers and those who enjoy, nay yearn for the challenge of cycling over 4000 km unsupported.
From the lush, warm mediterranean climes, through the heart of Europe, always north; through valleys and mountain passes, through age old towns and cities, always heading north; through the forests of Lapland, and yet still north, eventually to arrive at the Barents Sea at the foot of the North Cape. It is rumoured that the North Cape is indeed a magical land, a place where dreams and reality are in harmony, and with this in mind we have created the NorthCape4000.
So prepare your senses for an amazing bike challenge, a journey for the body but also a journey for the heart and soul.
Preparation and useful information
By registering for the NorthCape4000 you are ready to experience the most exciting event of the entire World Bikepacking calendar. You will cycle from the Mediterranean basin to the last strip of land in Europe before the North Pole. This also means that you will find very different sceneries, landscapes and conditions.
The NorthCape4000 is an UltraCycling Bikepacking Adventure in complete autonomy.
This means that participants are required to be aware and attentive in preparing for every aspect of the event. Indeed, the world of adventure requires flexibility, a spirit of adaptation and responsibility.
On this website, in the faq page, you will find many useful resources.
The NorthCape4000 takes place entirely on one of the safest, most modern and best served continents in the world: Europe. However, remember that it is always the responsibility of those who participate to plan and study the route that will be sent as well as the various aspects of the challenge, from the study of the climate and equipment to the management of the stages and support points.
For more information visit the faq page or send us an email to info@northcape4000.com, and start dreaming your next NorthCape4000, today.
