Three Peaks Bike Race

{{Short description|Annual ultra-distance bike race in the Alps}}

The Three Peaks Bike Race is an ultra-distance bike race that has been held yearly since 2018. It starts in Vienna and crosses the Alps and, every other year, the Pyrenees. The finish alternates yearly between Nice and Barcelona.

The participants have to reach three Mountain peaks or passes named by the race organizers. They have to plan and choose their own route between these checkpoints. Riders cover between 2,000 and 2,700 kilometres and climb between 20,000 and 40,000 metres.{{cite web|access-date=2021-10-17|author=Robert Lenhard|date=2019-07-25|title=Three Peaks Bike Race: Steirer radeln von Wien nach Barcelona|url=https://www.kleinezeitung.at/steiermark/suedsuedwest/5664411/|website=Kleine Zeitung}}{{cite web|access-date=2021-10-17|author=Johanna Jahnke|date=2021-08-05|title=Jana Kesenheimer - die schnellste Frau beim Three Peaks Bike Race 2021 über Emotionale Ziele und Wildschweine|url=https://die-wundersame-fahrradwelt.podigee.io/56-jana-kesenheimer-die-schnellste-frau-beim-three-peaks-bike-race-2021-uber-emotionale-ziele-und-wildschweine|website=Die Wundersame Fahrradwelt}}{{cite web|access-date=2021-10-17|author=Michael Sinner|date=2020-11-24|title=Lesetipp - Rennrad Magazin zum Three Peaks Bike Race und Kostenloses Test-Abo|url=https://www.velonerd.cc/rennrad-magazin-kostenlos-lesen-abo/|website=velonerd.cc}} During the race, the participants ride fully self-supported, carrying their own equipment and obtaining their own food (bikepacking). The leading riders arrive at the finish line in about four days. The finish closes ten days (since 2023: twelve days) after the start of the race but participants that arrive past that point in time are still named in the classification.{{cite web|access-date=2021-10-17|publisher=Adventure Bike Racing|title=Three Peaks Bike Race|url=https://www.adventurebikeracing.com/threepeaksbikerace/}} In 2022, 91 of 243 starters reached the finish; 81 stayed within the time limit.Sören Heim: [https://www.heilig-geist-hospital.de/uploads/media/2022-08-20_AZ_Mit_dem_Rad_ueber_die_Alpen_bis_Nizza.pdf Mit dem Rad über die Alpen bis Nizza] Allgemeine Zeitung, 20. August 2022, S. 16

The 2020 edition of the race is the subject of the documentary Three Peaks & In Between by Stephan Wieser, which follows rider Jana Kesenheimer over the course of the event.{{cite web|access-date=2021-10-17|author=Miles Arbour|date=2021-02-01|language=en|title=THREE PEAKS AND IN BETWEEN (FILM)|url=https://bikepacking.com/plog/three-peaks-and-in-between-film/|website=bikepacking.com}}{{cite web|access-date=2021-10-17|author=Johanna Jahnke|date=2021-01-07|title=Jana Kesenheimer - Das Three Peaks Bike Race und was dazwischen geschah|url=https://die-wundersame-fahrradwelt.podigee.io/39-jana-kesenheimer-das-three-peaks-bike-race-und-was-dazwischen-geschah|website=Die Wundersame Fahrradwelt}}