Six-Day Enduro Stage Race off the Coast of Portugal on The Azores

PRESS RELEASE: Safari Bike Tour

Honouring the legends of Atlantis with and the formation of the Azores, we've organized a 6-day blind enduro race, hopping from one island to the next to explore the uniqueness of each island's terrain with old and new friends.


After an article by Raven Eye Photography, where 5 different islands of the Azores were featured an idea started to formulate and finally after years of thought and planning, Bike Safari Tour will bring you from 6 to 11 of September 2018, a trans-island adventure in the north Atlantic. Only a hundred riders will be allowed to battle through the six different areas on five different islands of the archipelago. Riders will race against the clock on blind stages, through a mix of technical, flowy singletrack, rocky ancient trails, downhill trails with features like drops, jumps, road gaps and many more.


The camp is located in the beautiful village of Sete Cidades, São Miguel island, a village inside a volcano crater, home to the legendary Lagoon of Tears. In one side a blue lagoon and the other a green. There are 5 stages to warm up for the week.


Waking up on São Jorge island, on the north coast, looking at the ocean, famous for its trails on the coast. There are up to 6 Stages around its sides.



Faial Island is famous amongst Atlantic sailors as a good safe harbour to stop and refuel. The island has some of the best hand built trails on offer. There are six stages on this amazing small island.


Pico island, famous for its peak at 2351m above sea level makes the highest peak of Portugal. Trails here are rough and full of dark volcanic stones with connections trough typical Azorean vineyards. Hard five stages waits for the riders.



Santa Maria Island is a summer destination for all Azoreans. Here the island is more blessed with sunny days. Being submerged underwater for years, the landscape of the island will make the day with the most diverse terrain. Six stages will take place on this sunny island.


Back on São Miguel island for the final day. This time in the ancient village of Faial da Terra, where ancient rocky trails await for the last surviving gladiators. There are six stages on this rocky ancient village.


Sleeping and Eating
A mobile camp will be set up at different locations when necessary, and staff team will set up on the next campsite and carry your bags. Every rider will have a 3 man tent, a big air mattress and a pillow for the duration of the race. Because we believe a good meal is always very important, breakfast, lunches and dinners will be prepared by chefs of local restaurants and catering companies, cooking traditional Azorean cuisine.

Safety
Stages and Liaisons will be marked with visible signs and tape to show you the way. A system of danger signs on the stages will be explained to you in the race book when you sign in. Because marshalling all the course is impractical, self-awareness is required at all times, additional GPS trackers and maps will be provided. A sweep medical system will be used as well other safety systems.

Level of Fitness
Although the event is based on islands with short trails and connections, it won't be an easy ride and a good amount of fitness is required to complete the event and be able to pedal for hours on the bike and still be able to race the stages in a safe way.

Riders will have to start racing every day around 08:30, climb around 1200m and master the technical sections in the stages.

Prizes
A combined of the total prize money will be 6000 euros divided among the men's and women's categories.


Register by March 20th at http://www.atlantisendurorace.com.