SPARTAKIADA 2024 – 35th edition

The Race

“Spartakiada” is Greece’s greatest cycling sportive event, linking the two most important cities of ancient Greece, Athens & Sparta. In the ancient days professional messengers run the distance in two days, today we use bicycles to challenge our endurance and cover the distance between 8 to 12 hours!

The event is organized by the CYCLISTS UNION of VETERAN ATHLETS (Π.Ε.Π.Α.) It starts in front of one of the most attractive places in the capital city of Athens, the Panathenaic Stadium or “Kallimarmaron”, the athletic stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. “Spartakiada” finishes after 257 km in the city of Sparta, a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the Eurotas river of Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese, right in front of the King Leonidas of Sparta statue. You will be riding through the cities of Korinthos, Argos, Tripoli and the beautiful landscapes of South-East Peloponnese.

Event date: October 5th, 2024
Start: Kallimarmaron Stadium
Finish: Sparta
Distance: 257km
Climbs: 2.511m
Cut off time: Max 12hrs

Control points at Corinth (76 klm, 15minutes mandatory stop), Myloi (150 klm) and Tripolis (195 klm at 17:00)
Entry opening 01/09/2024
Entry closing: Three days before the race
Categories: Men (30-39), (40-49), (50-59), (60+), Women (25+)

 

Rules

  • All participating athletes MUST provide a Medical Certificate-cardio exam no more than 3 months old- of their ability for Long Distance Cycling Racing
  • All participants must have a Third Party Insurance policy valid for Greece (send email to info [at] pepa.gr for info)
  • Street racing bikes ONLY are allowed
  • No aero bars, cameras, or other extra accessories are allowed
  • Plastic fenders can be used in case of rain and only after technical inspection
  • Within the first section Athens-Corinth, ALL participating riders will be riding as ONE Group. No breakaway is allowed as the peloton will be police escorted
  • After the 1st stop in Corinth the peloton will be free to ride at their own pace following the START sign given by the Race Director
  • In ALL three stops (Corinth, Myloi, Tripolis) each rider MUST get their card STAMPED or else they are disqualified and if they choose to continue -not as part of the race though- their cards are noted with the arrival time as OTL
  • Losing the card during the ride, does not qualify the rider for the official results but he or she can continue to finish the race as DNF
  • At the FINISH all finishers MUST RETURN their CARDS to record their arrival time
  • Race numbers must be attached on the left AND right sides of the jersey (back pockets height)
  • Race number on the bike is mandatory
  • Race rules follow the International racing code. The same rules apply for dress code
  • ALL riders must follow the Car Driving Code (no overtaking allowed when double line on the road, etc.)
  • Any reckless riding may result to the expulsion of the rider from the race (DNF)
  • Riders can apply for license to be followed by a Support Vehicle (must apply for license as First Come First Served)
  • Vehicles supporting MORE THAN ONE rider get priority license depending the number of riders they service
  • In case that a Support Vehicle does not have the official Support License Number the rider gets fined by the Officials
  • All riders within the Time Limit to Finish Line will receive a commemorative medal
  • All riders Over the Time Limit will receive a commemorative Diploma
  • Race numbers for the P.E.P.A. members are the same that are used during the 2024 Championship Races

Registration

Costs

  • Participation cost for P.E.P.A. members is 25 euros
  • For ALL other participants is 100 euros + 15 euros for insurance
  • pay attention to add at least 5 euros for bank fees so the TOTAL sum to transfer is 120 euros
  • Return cost of the bus for Rider and Bicycle (Sparta-Athens) is 30 euros and must be paid in advance together with the Participation Cost
  • NO REFUND is possible for whatever the reason
  • Payments can be done to our bank account using our bank’s details as follows:
    • NATIONAL BANK of GREECE
    • IBAN: GR6501100750000007500131292
    • Account number: 075/001312-92 SWIFT (BIC): ETHNGRAA
  • ATTENTION: A timing chip will be given to each athlete which must be returned to the Secretariat after the end of the race

Time Table & Itinerary

5/10/2024 Saturday – Road Race

  • 06:00 – Registration, card and race numbers delivery, Athens
  • 06:30 – Technical inspection/control, Kallimarmaro
  • 07:30 – Race start, Kallimarmaro
  • 17:00 –  Tripolis cut-off
  • 19:30 – Race finish (cut off time 12hrs), Sparta
  • 18:00 – Free Dinner, Sparta local restaurant (place to be confirmed later in the year)
  • 21:00 – Awards ceremony, Sparta Main Square or Stadium (depending the weather conditions)

6/10/2024 Sunday Recovery race (optional)

Statistics – Results

Based on 2016 event’s results.

  • Best time 08:10 on an average speed of 30.49km/h
  • Average time 09:44 on an average speed of 25.74km/h

Detailed route

  • Athens “Kallimarmaro” – Zappeion – Syntagma sq. – Omonia sq. – Athens Av. – New Athens-Corinth highway – Corinth’s Isthmus – Old Corinth-Argos road – Myloi – Ahladokampos – Tripolis – Sparta (King Leonida’s statue
  • GPX files and maps can be found at: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10631767 where you can download the .gpx or .tcx (better) files

Details and Information

  • Disqualification of a participating athlete for serious defects or irregularities at the Technical inspection (Athens) is automatically considered a foreclosure penalty as a DNS/DNF
  •  All participants participate in the event at their own responsibility and P.E.P.A. has no liability for any potential accident as well as for wear or loss of racing material, clothing, etc.
  • All participants give their consent to receive medical and pharmaceutical treatment in the event of injury, accident or illness during the event
  • All participants give their permission to the use photos and videos taken during the event and related activities for any legitimate use by P.E.P.A. and sponsors of the event
  • P.E.P.A. has the right to collapse / modify categories or the schedule and the itinerary of the event, for reasons of force majeure, if it is not possible to secure access for participating competitors at all points of the route (not sure what this means)
  • It is forbidden for any reason to help the participant’s athlete’s movement during the event, such as pushing or towing / pulling the participating athlete by other means or an external agent in addition to his / her own physical strength
  • No participant athlete has the right to express complaints or objections or to impede in any way the work of the jury and Officials. Objections may be submitted in writing and given to the Race Committee immediately after the event
  • The eventual feeding / watering of the participating athlete on the Athens – Corinth’s Isthmus police escorted segment, in order not to interfere with his/her teammates, MUST take place at the end of the group, under the responsibility of the participating athlete
  • Try to keep clean the nature and the host towns we go through. It is the duty and responsibility of all of us. Keep the nature clean. Pollution of the premises may result in a blocking penalty by the Race Committee
  • For anything it is not included within this announcement, responsible are the Race Committee or The Technical Referee or the Race Director

REMINDER

  • The use of helmet during the race is compulsory, but also in training (e.g. warm-up or track identification before and after the event)