VIA Race Chapter II

The first chapter of VIA followed in the great footsteps of Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, who led his army with 38 elephants from Southern Iberia, across mountain ranges to reach Southern Italy, where the first chapter in our VIA story ended. However, where Chapter I ended, Chapter II begins. Read more about Chapter 1 on Gravgrav:

2025 will see the second chapter starting in Southern Italy, following Germanicus, one of the last of the Caesars, on his great journey to retrieve the lost Roman Eagles from Germania, finishing in what is today the Netherlands. That destination will be the beginning of the third and final chapter, in 2026, for the conclusion of our three chapter story. VIA will crown the most consistent rider in each category, and crown the greatest ultracyclists of our generation.

This year, VIA riders will be traveling from 22 different countries, with most making their way to Italy from across Europe. To support sustainable travel options for cyclists, race organizers Ian & Ingeborg researched the best ways to reach Giovinazzo using trains, buses, and ferries—with bikes. 🚆🚢

VIA has a free routing route
The key locations of the beginning, end, mandatory Gates, and Refuges, will be provided by the VIA team. Each rider will be responsible for creating their own route between each key location. The VIA team will communicate any banned roads or tunnels.

Route difficulty
The 4,000km route has more than 40,000hm of elevation and crosses multiple mountain ranges. Racers will ride through Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Route Surfaces

VIA race is predominantly a road bike race. MTB/Gravel bikes are not needed and no gravel sections are required. The Gates and Refuges are chosen so riders can plan an all-tarmac route. It's a free-route event and riders are also free to plan gravel or hike-a-bike sections, if they wish.

World Bicycle Relief 

Last year, VIA's application fees were donated to World Bicycle Relief, which enabled them to buy 11 Buffalo bikes for impoverished people in third world countries. This year, application fees will again be donated to World Bicycle Relief and VIA will collaborate further to help raise more money for this good cause.

Refuge Collaboration

The Cake Movement (Dead Ends & Cake, in St Gallen, CH) and Lakes 'n' Knödel (Fritzens, Austria) will both provide refuges on the race. Noteworthy as both are fellow race organizers themselves!

De Proloog Exhibition

There will be an exhibition at the race finish, De Proloog in Amerongen, the Netherlands, of race photographs, riders' bikes (with bags, dirt and all!), riders' clothes displayed on a mannequin, and an infographic for the public to understand what VIA is about.

Before the race starts, De Proloog will host local VIA riders from Netherlands/Belgium to announce the opening of the exhibition at an evening of talks, to tell stories from last year and to talk about their expectations for their 2025 race, in front of large photograph prints from the previous year.Inside the café, a large screen will display the dotwatching view of the race for its duration.

When riders have finished their race, and after a little rest and recovery, riders and the team will give talks at arranged times about fresh stories from the road. This will be a great opportunity for local cyclists and other members of the public to ask questions about the race.

Other ExhibitionsA similar exhibition of race photographs will be arranged at the start in Giovinazzo.During the race, other cyclist hubs such as cafés and bike shops in Italy, for example Bicierin in Torino (which already hosted evenings with 8 VIA riders and team members), will also be featuring information and stories of VIA.