The first edition of the Hellenic Mountain Race will follow a 939 kilometre route with 29,000m of vertical elevation gain. It will take riders from Meteora, famous for its monasteries perilously perched on their stone pillars, to the picturesque, fortified Venetian port town of Nafpaktos, at the southern edge of the mainland, on the Gulf of Corinth.

The route follows a mix of unpaved roads, tarmac, stone pathways and a handful of singletracks. The route is around 53% unpaved. There is also some hike a bike to allow us to take riders to a few particularly special places. Riders will need to validate their progress through the course at three staffed checkpoints: Papingo, Melissourgi, and Karpenissi, before obtaining their final brevet card stamp in Nafpaktos.

The route will likely give riders an unexpected impression of Greece. They will spend most of their time far from the islands and beaches that make this such a popular and renowned holiday destination. They'll spend their time in the surprisingly wild and remote mountains and forests of the north of the country.

The riding is incredible, the people are warm and friendly and the food is fantastic. Add to that generous portions and you have the recipe for a great bike packing adventure. Wildlife may well also be on the menu. During scouting, we saw two bears, some wild boar and several mountain goats. Get ready for a proper adventure!

You'll likely notice that there is rather a lot of climbing involved. Although the race takes place in a generally less remote setting than it's two sister races in Kyrgyzstan and Morocco, this is certainly not going to be an easy race. Have a look at each of the tours below for more details on each section of the course and some of the highlights along the way!

Special credit is due to Chrissa Zompoulou (@hesperiairisgraeca) who graciously gave me plenty of recommendations and information on the Pindus Mountains and Greece in genera. Two stretches of the route : to and from Metsovo are entirely thanks to her (KM15-70 & KM302-420). They are part of her Pindus Traverse which is also well worth a look.

- Nelson Trees, Race Director