Yet another edition of the Dunav (Danube) Ultra bicycle challenge is starting on September 7. The participants will cycle a total of 670 km along Bulgaria’s northern border. The event will kick off at Stambol Kapia – the major gate of the town of Vidin’s fortress in Northwestern Bulgaria.

The enthusiasts will then go through the towns of Lom, Belene, Svishtov, Ruse and many other small and larger settlements, in order to finish into the remotest northeastern one – Durankulak, on the Black Sea shore. The competition was founded in 2014 by a Sofia citizen – Boris Begamov. Together with his team he invested a lot of energy and the recognition came before long. In 2017 the route received the “Innovation of the Year” prestigious award of the Ministry of Tourism. However, what made Boris opt for the Danube River itinerary exactly? The reason was that according to him we all know well our Black Sea, the beauty of the Rhodope Mountain etc., but the Danube region somehow remains isolated despite its great attractiveness. At the same time the whole length of Danube’s riverbed is the most interesting and attractive biking route across the continent:

“The river itself is like a living body – it looks different every time, its level is always different, within certain parameters though. Islands and jungles appear and disappear… However, the Bulgarian segment of the Danube is interesting even due to the fact that because of the economic development of the area over the past years the river has been left on its own – right now it has turned into a real jungle and you can’t see this within the rest of the continent,” Boris says and adds of the cycling adventure’s format:

“Dunav Ultra was born to be an extreme sports event, but we offer a different format each year. The route has been covered within extremely short terms as duathlon – running and cycling, cycling with bikes with no gears etc. This year the event won’t be competitive for the first time with the purpose of including more amateurs – anyone will be able to cover the distance within the timeframe selected by him/her.”

The route can be covered for less than 48 hours, or for up to 5 days. “Everyone will score and lose simultaneously – in the first option you can prove to yourself how fit you are, but you won’t be able to enjoy the beauty and charm of the great river by stopping at certain spots,” Boris says and adds on Dunav Ultra:

“Today this is a challenge of the spirit, of the will to get to know Bulgaria well and to discover new things and inspiration.”

The Danube Ultra route has been gaining popularity not only in Bulgaria, but also in neighboring Romania and across other European states. The team that works on the event is convinced that the biking challenge can turn into one of the steps for the recovering of the Danube region:

“When we started, the locals couldn’t see biking tourism as an opportunity to develop the region, saying: ‘Here is the seed that might give us the plant.’ At the same time we have been quite persistent in the upgrading of our project that has been turning into a tourist project. By returning to Danube every year, we prove that the development of this type of tourism is an option which can turn into the basis of a more serious vision on the future of the region.”

If you have started to consider joining the Dunav Ultra 2019 adventure, we can only say that next year there will be most likely an option to cover the route in 7 and 10 days as well.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev