Bike events that cover these distances but which are split into stages do not fit most definitions of ultra-distance races – the clock needs to run continuously from start to finish.
Bordeaux–Paris in France was the longest one-day, annual professional bike race; it had a route of about 560 kilometres (350 mi) and was run almost every year between 1891 and 1988.
Paris–Brest–Paris was a professional bike race that covered a massive 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) in France, and was only held every 10 years from 1891 until 1951, but has since continued as a randonneuring event (see below).
The oldest ultracycling race in Europe[citation needed] is the Glocknerman, an Austrian cycling event with a distance of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) that was first held in 1997.
[4] The first Race Across Russia was held in 2013 as a non-stop team relay event with a total distance of about 9,200 kilometres (5,700 mi) between Moscow and Vladivostok.
Christoph Strasser set the current 24 hour road record on a normal road bike at 1,026.21 kilometres (637.66 mi) in Zeltweg, Austria on 16 July 2021, as seen at Wikipedia's List_of_cycling_records In 2014, the UMCA revived interest in the highest annual mileage record, which was last set in 1939 by Tommy Godwin at 120,805 kilometres (75,065 mi).
Among the most popular of these is the Transcontinental Race, which covers approximately 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) across Europe and was inspired by the off-road US event Tour Divide.
Around South East Asia, the Bentang Jawa, Race Across Java, Lintang Flores and JavaBali are ultra challenges in Indonesia.
Randonneuring events (also called brevets or audaxes) are generally non-competitive rides where racing is not the focus; they are ridden more as personal challenges.
The most famous of this type of event is Paris-Brest-Paris in France, in which over 5,000 people attempt to complete the 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) long route in under 90 hours.
The event that proclaims itself to be the "longest Granfondo in the world" follows almost the same route as the professional Milan–San Remo bike race and is 296 kilometres (184 mi) long.
The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 330 kilometres (210 mi) long cyclosportive over mountainous terrain through France, Switzerland, and Italy.
Every second year there is also an 8 lap option, 1,280 kilometres (800 mi) long, but a following support vehicle is required for that version making it more of an ultracycling-format event.
In 2018, Scottish endurance cyclist Jenny Graham completed an unsupported circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle in 124 Days, 10 hours and 50 minutes.
Gravel races rarely call for a team of coaches and bicycle technicians because the courses susceptible to varying weather that is hard to train and prepare for.
This give way to camaraderie on the trail and caters to a fun and relaxed atmosphere that is not always present in road and mountain bike races.
[10] In the UK, the Dirty Reiver is a 200-kilometre (120 mi) off-road cycling challenge that takes place in Hexham, England.
In June 2019, 2,750 riders lucky enough to be picked from a lottery crossed the start line of the Dirty Kanza 200 and the fact that organizers had to introduce other mileage categories also shows that gravel biking is about the adventure.
One of the most famous and popular off-road bikepacking events is the Tour Divide, which covers 4,418 kilometres (2,745 mi) across the Rocky Mountains from Canada, through the US, and finishes at the Mexican border.
[12] The most popular off-road bikepacking race in Europe is the Tuscany Trail, which covers 530 kilometres (330 mi) in central Italy.
[15][16] The Titan Desert is a six-day stage race held in Morocco with a total distance of over 600 kilometres (370 mi).
The course and length differs each year, but generally finishes at Uluru; the 2018 edition was 3,500 km (2,175 mi) in total, and covered sections of Southern Australia as well as Tasmania.
[18] Everesting came to wider public attention during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when bored professional cyclists went in search of hills when the world tour was shut down.