This May, the inaugural Accursed Race will set off. A fixed-route, off-road race in the Balkans, starting and finishing in Shkoder, Albania, and taking in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. It’s organised by Lost Dot, the team behind the Transcontinental (TCR) and Trans Pyrenees (TPR) races, and offers the chance to explore some of the TCR’s heartlands in greater detail than is possible during the Transcontinental Race.

At 1600 km, with 37,000m of climbing through some of the most remote terrain left in Europe, The Accursed Race is going to be relentlessly hilly, across challenging terrain, and with remote sections with little resupply.

We caught up with race director Andrew Phillips on what led to the creation of Lost Dot’s first off-road race, and dug into what riders can expect to experience when they line up at the start in Albania for the first edition of the race.

Who is the Accursed Race for?

We love to get as many different people as possible onto our startlines, and you don’t have to have a load of ultra-cycling experience under your belt. What we’re looking for is resourceful people, who know how to handle themselves in remote mountainous environments. Your experience might be as a runner, climber, or in other outdoor sports.

If you’re thinking about signing up, you probably already own a mountain bike of some kind… We’d definitely recommend either a hardtail or full-suspension mountain bike over a gravel bike. It might be possible to get round with drop bars and no suspension, but I wouldn’t want to be the person trying it!

Tell us a bit about the route?

The Accursed route is a labour of love. First conceived in 2017, we’ve spent years thinking about what this looks like, hundreds of hours poring over maps, and weeks spent out in the field exploring roads, tracks, and riding or driving every single inch of the route.

Although it’s pretty painstaking, and there are days when everything turns into a dead end, the final result is something we’re really proud of.

The race starts in Shkoder, where the wetlands of Lake Skadar turn into the Dolomite-like crags of the Theth valley, where the race turns and heads for the Karstic landscapes of Montenegro. The Ciro Trail, routes along an old Austro-Hungarian railway line, before climbing out above Mostar, and towards the Sutjeska National Park, home to the threatened Neretva river, and a population of local brown bears. After Sutjeska comes the stunning turquoise waters of the Foca valley and the peaks and endless highlands of Durmitor, before crossing back into Montenegro and reaching the first CP at Berane.

Upon leaving CP1, riders climb immediately on the ancient transhumance ‘katun’ roads, towards the Kosovan border. Once there, Kosovo provides a brief respite of tarmac, before climbing again towards Albania and the heart of The Accursed Mountains. The small town of Kukes provides a semblance of population, before riders head off the tarmac once more and into the Lurë-Dejë mountain park, where kettlehole lakes, endless views, and huge rock walls will keep you entertained on your way to CP2 in Peshkopi.

After that, it might feel like the home straight, but there’s still over 400km of relentless climbing, and some of the toughest doubletrack of the route before the final descent towards the finish in Shkoder.

Why ‘The Accursed’? What’s the story behind the name?

The Accursed Mountains lie at the heart of the Dinaric Alps, the range which dominates the Balkan peninsula. They’re so named, according to local legend, because of a curse put on them hundreds of years ago by a mother fleeing through them with her children.

As they walked, it’s said that the jagged rocks tore at their feet, the mountains rose endlessly above them, and the sun beat down relentlessly upon them. They had no choice but to continue and, as they did, their thirst grew and grew. Eventually as the mother began to despair, she threw her head back and screamed with such power that the very mountains themselves were cursed by her voice. As she did so the heavens opened and, the sweet elixir of life, water began to pour down upon them. The mother and her children were saved, but to this day the mountains bear her curse.

Why did you decide to make this race no-fly?

We’re an organisation and group of individuals who passionately believe in doing the right thing, even when it’s not the easy thing. We’re working to reduce the carbon footprint of our other races, TCR and TPR, and our analysis shows that over 70% of their footprint is rider travel to and from races, with air travel making up the vast majority of this.

Climate change has become such an urgent issue that we can’t ignore it anymore, and for us it simply wouldn’t have been sustainable to create a new race at all if we hadn’t taken this measure. We hope to use the race to show that sustainable tourism and bikepacking can help preserve the landscapes we love to ride through, highlighting under-threat ecosystems along the route, and promoting the use of less harmful methods of transport.

Anyone who signs up to ride a race like this has to be a resourceful person, and we believe that if you can finish a 1600 km bike race, you can get to the start line without flying!

For anyone who isn’t aware, who are Lost Dot?

Lost Dot is the not-for-profit company, set up to run the Transcontinental Race, and continue Mike Hall’s legacy after his death in 2017. We’re a small team; Andrew Phillips, David Ayre, and Hannah Larbalestier as Race Directors/Coordinators, Taylor Doyle as our Media Manager, and Anna Haslock, our Managing Director.

As a not-for-profit, we’re driven by improving diversity, increasing sustainability, and upholding the rules and values that Mike Hall set as the cornerstone of The Transcontinental Race.

What does it look like to travel overland to Albania?

For me personally, travelling overland is about the experience. The adventure begins as soon as you leave your front door, and watching the landscapes slowly change into those you will be racing through is a great way to enjoy the journey, and decompress before and after the race.

We’re not leaving riders totally on their own, and will be providing some suggested travel itineraries from major hubs here. We’re also putting on a bus (The Accursed Express) which will have space for 50 riders, travelling from Zagreb to Shkoder on the 12th May, and back again after the finish party.

For someone travelling from the UK, a typical journey would probably be Eurostar, London to Paris, train from Paris to Munich, coach from Munich to Zagreb, and then The Accursed Express from Zagreb all the way to the start in Shkoder. An alternative route would be down through Italy to Bari, and then an overnight ferry from Bari to Durres, and a two hour coach journey to the start in Shkoder. The whole journey from the UK can be completed in roughly 48h.

Inaugural editions are always a bit special, what’s extra special about this one?

There’s always something slightly magical about the first edition of a race, and The Accursed is no exception to that. For me, what makes it even more tantalising is the unknown quantity of this route for almost everyone. I could spend hours waxing lyrical about the constantly changing landscapes and mind-blowing vistas, but I wouldn’t have covered even a tenth of the route. You’ll just have to go out and see for yourselves.

Can riders still sign up?

Sure, applications are open until the end of the month and can be found here