The cross country bike marathon season will kick off in Romania this week-end, with the first large event of this year: the First Escape – Marea Evadare – bike marathon. As many as 3,000 bikers are expected to join the largest cross – country biking marathon in Eastern Europe on Sunday, May 11.

Among them will be the CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Romania, Steven van Groningen, the Belgium Ambassador to Romania Philippe Beke, as well as media bosses and well known journalists.

The competition, organized by Nomad Multi Sport, is at its 6th edition, and takes bikers on a track through the woods in the Northern part of Bucharest on some 55 kilometers. It brings together people from 29 countries, and marks a record attendance this year from Bulgaria – 30 people.

Those who want to sign up for the event can do so on Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, either online here, or directly at the Caro hotel in Bucharest. The late participation fee costs RON 90. When picking up the participation kits, participants can also have their bikes checked.

The First Escape track starts at the Police Academy in the northern part of Bucharest, goes via country roads and forests, and ends in Snagov. Novice bikers can also join the competition, but at least two or three routes on bumpy roads are advised beforehand. Competitors should have mountain bikes, or can join the cyclocross or tandem segments, and they should wear helmets at all times.

Two helicopters will follow the participants, while Police and medical teams will assist along the way. Teams of photographers and cameramen will record the event. Photographers attend their own contest, running for prizes of over RON 6,000 – or EUR 1,300 – for best pics taken during the biking competition.

Meanwhile, i-Rewind will provide the technology to record footage of each participant, which can then be shared on social media.

For registration, go here. 

editor@romania-insider.com