Going to Hamburg for a 240-ish kilometer gravel event through the night. That was not on my list when I planned my 2026 season. When I was asked if I wanted to come and participate I was unsure. No climbing, or at least only some hills. A fairly short distance and for that quite a lot of travel.
But something in me said "Why not?" The graphics and tone of communication spoke to me. It feels very grounded and close to the community. No fancy luxury Girona vibe, but properly organized and with passion.
On top of that, not a lot of people know: I actually lived near Hamburg in a town called Elmshorn when I was very young. So I had some urge to visit this beautiful city again.
Decision made, let's spend a nice weekend in Hamburg and get to know some more nice people in our nice little cycling bubble.
Bike and preparation
I mean, if you know me you are very aware I can't just show up to an event and not try to perform to the best of my abilities. I love the process of training, tinkering with my setup, staring at a route, and planning my nutrition strategy around it.
In the end I got signed up for the Night Shift. It is meant to be an entry point for riders to ride through the night. A manageable route of just over 240 kilometers, with a bit over 1000 meters of climbing, which are basically small climbs going through the forest, up dams, and the like. Start time was 18:30, just before sunset.
So what bike, you might ask? My beloved Cervélo Aspero-5, for sure. Fast and aero, but with wide enough tires to take on some rocky forest roads and even flowy trails baked into the route. No bags needed this time. I calculated I'd be able to finish in a bit over 8 hours. Fortunately no one realized I was riding some unreleased Reserve Wheels 48|53 GRs with some 45mm MAXXIS tires, but I got a lot of compliments how beautiful my bike looked. ;)
So: two bottles and a hydration backpack (testing a Camelbak at the moment), some Silca tools, and an electric mini pump packed into my frame storage. Nothing more needed. A BBB Signal Pro and a 2100i front light, and of course my trusty Coros Dura bike computer completed the setup. (Apart from my 7mesh kit, Kask Nirvana helmet, Alba Optics Delta glasses, Quoc GT III shoes, and some VeloToze Pro Aero socks.)
Basically I treated this ride as a long and hard Zone 2 ride. Just my normal training schedule, with this weekend thrown in to step up the training stress a bit ahead of SRMR.
Exploring Hamburg's Backyard
I looked at the route beforehand, obviously, and saw a lot of sharp turns. A good balance of off-road and tarmac and around 1000m of climbing. The day before the event I even rode out of Hamburg along the "Deich" for the intervals I still had on my training plan. That was a fast way out. Flat and 40 km/h fast.
However, I didn't check the rest of the course, of course (ha!), and was very surprised by a fairly technical but flowy course with a high amount of singletrack. In fact I was surprised how much deep forest, small climbing ramps, and flowy singletrack I found along this route. It's Hamburg, so I also expected a lot of water. I knew there were lakes all around, but being so close to water nearly all the time actually caught me by surprise.
Traffic was reasonable throughout, and the run out of and back into town was short and pleasant.
The… Race?
I'm not even sure it was a race. Talking to Jan and Rasmus from the organizers, they explained it more as a first touchpoint for participants to ride through the night. It's for people entering the sport of bikepacking who are still a bit scared of riding through the dark.
I think it's a fitting first touchpoint: tight turns, dark forests, some technical sections. Just what you want. A challenge, not too easy to complete, but not a brutal odyssey that feels like a survival camp. So the spirit wasn't exactly like a race. A vibrant and wonderfully diverse group gathered at the start line, a bit anxious but full of excitement.
The late start was a blessing in disguise. I'm usually not a huge fan of night starts, but neither am I a fan of very early mornings. Starting at 19:00 in the evening meant escaping the brutal heat wave that plagued Hamburg that June weekend. And being so close to the summer solstice, the time in the dark was limited as well. We basically had light until after 22:00, and by the time I reached the finish around 04:00, I could already feel dawn creeping back in.
Oh, maybe that already gave away part of my ride. My plan was to ride the route in around 8 hours to get a nice long and hard endurance session in. This was in line with my training plan.
That being said, if you train with Xert, your Zone 2 target power is a tiny bit absurd. The event started in waves to accommodate everyone's target finish time. Mine was the fastest, as I assumed a 30 km/h average pace was possible. Five other riders started with me in the first wave. White aero socks, skinsuits, and drink vests seemed to be the dress code. Myself included, lol.
For about 30 kilometers, the other riders drafted in my slipstream. I'm not a huge fan of having people close behind me, but I also kind of want to let people have their little race. Soon enough, on a small climb followed by singletrack, I was alone. From then on, I had the forest to myself.
A few "interesting" sections had us crossing a rather huge hole in a construction site, pushing through thick nettle bushes or thorny paths, climbing over large fallen trees, and getting past a suspiciously high fence that forced me to recruit some underused muscles.
The organizers and crew were waiting for us around 60km in, in a nice little town with a bumpy cobblestone road running through it, and took some pictures. After that I never saw a soul again. I stopped once at a vending machine for half a liter of coke, downed it in seconds, and kept going.
It was nice. Such a good route, such nice temperatures even during the night, and a course that challenged me in a way that meant I was never bored, never tempted to listen to music, let alone fall asleep.
Arriving with the sun slowly greeting me at the horizon was just the cherry on the cake.
Finish line vibes
I arrived at the finish and was surprised to see people waiting for me in the middle of the night.
"We looked at the tracking and thought: how? This guy is going to arrive before sunrise!" I did slow down a bit so they'd have more time. ;)
Fun fact: I had to turn around and roll in again for the champagne shower. (Actually it was the cheaper German Sekt, but who wants champagne anyway?)
It was a very funny and warm atmosphere. Some guys had just finished the 700km ultra as well, which had started a day earlier. We had a nice chat before we all went to bed. I actually returned twice more to chat with people and soak up the relaxed vibe.
I later learned the second finisher was Cemile Trommer. She wasn't much slower than me, what a ride! Drinks and snacks were provided, and the location was amazing.
All in all, it definitely wasn't on my calendar, and I have to say thank you to Van Rysel and Fusion Media for inviting me. I discovered a beautiful event that skyrocketed high up my list of desirable events. And I'm pretty sure I'll return to catch up with the beautiful people of Hamburg's Backyard.
