Registrations for the international mountain bike race “Bike Odyssey 2018 – Pindos Cross Country” opened on December 1 and are scheduled to run until December the 31st.
The race covers a total of 620km over a period of 8 gruelling days. The course includes two 3-day side legs, the “Bike Odyssey North” and the “Bike Odyssey South”, which take place at the start and end of the main event, respectively.
The “Bike Odyssey – Pindos Cross Country” is unique in Greece. It is the longest and toughest mountain bike course in the country, and one of the hardest and most demanding cross-country mountain biking events in the world.
The race crosses 5 regions, 8 prefectures and 57 villages in the Pindos mountain range, covering some of the most breathtaking vistas of mountainous Greece. It starts on June on June 17, 2018, at Smixi in Grevena, and ends in Nafpaktos on 24 June.
The event began in 2013 and has established itself as an international race, as it attracts worldwide interest. The first five races in the previous years saw cyclists from France, England, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Indonesia, Australia, Israel, Cyprus, South Africa and Trinidad & Tobago, Scotland.
Organisers have ensured that participants will experience a series of amazing cultural happenings at each station, rendering the “Bike Odyssey 2018 – Pindos Cross Country”, not only a sporting event for both professional and serious amateur riders, but also a major tourist attraction, as it showcases the natural beauties of the mountainous regions it covers, thus contributing to its establishment as a tourist destination in its own right.