Seven Serpents 2025

• Writing • Sport

Seven Serpents is an unsupported bikepacking gravel race from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Trieste, Italy. The 2025 route was 840 km long with over 17,000 m elevation gain which I finished in 3 days 4 hours and 44 minutes. It was challenging, technical, and unnecessarily hard - from hike-a-bike sections to downhills with coconut-size rocks that required a lot of attention, constantly pressing on breaks, and a snail tempo to avoid punctures or falls. A proper type 2 fun.

The race started on Sunday, 7 am at Ljubljana. We had a clear sky and 8 degrees, which wouldn’t last long. The race split immediately on the first climb that had sections with 20% gradient and wouldn’t come back together until the social dinner on Thursday after the race (many riders were still riding by then). The first part winded through hills and nice gravel routes, taking us slowly from Ljubljana to Cerknice at 200th kilometer with the first checkpoint on the way at Sveta Trojica Hill at 1123 meters of altitude.

The weather turned to shit not long after the race start and wouldn’t improve until the Monday morning almost a day later. In between heavy rain we go swept by thunderstorms and hail. I have spent first few hours riding with Zuzka, later joined by Ben, until I punctured on 140th kilometer and lost 20 minutes trying to plug a hole in my tubeless tires that wouldn’t to seal.

After passing Sveta Trojica I tried to ride at a solid tempo to catch up with Zuzka and Ben again and have a companionship for the night. I failed, meeting them for a few minutes at Cerknica where I wanted to resupply and eat. I made my first mistake here trying to rush through to gain back time. I had only a few bites of a kebab as my stomach didn’t feel like having more, I accidentally got Coca Cola Zero instead of regular, and I didn’t cool down at all. Zuzka and Ben were long gone, and I left into the sunset on my own, accompanied only by a steady heavy rain.

By 21:30 I was drenched, cold, and uncontrollably shivering and decided to stop at a hut for a cup of tea to reassess the situation. Reassessing the situation took 5 minutes and one more cup of tea - I decided to stay for the night and leave in the early morning hours, hopefully into a better weather and warmer temperatures.

Second day started at 4:30 am with a long route ahead. First, 64 kilometers to checkpoint number 2 at the Guslica mountain, all of which was in a rain and mist that reduced the visibility to 200 meters. Climb to Guslica was horrendous with big rocks and heavy wind gusts, furthermore, we rode the same road down. It had a silver lining too, after descending further to the south the weather improved, sun came out, and I had a first proper stop at a bakery where I chugged on a yogurt, 2 berliners, and 2 sausage rolls. With a better mood and restored energy I pressed on towards the Krk island.

The part of the race on the Krk island start on 370th kilometer. By that time it was afternoon and warm and sunny, but the steep climbs ensured one doesn’t get too comfortable. The gnarliest section was around Baška at the south-east of the island. A technical descend on a hiking trail followed by a hike-a-bike climb on the other side of the town. The rest of the route on the Krk island was still challenging but passed by faster with the first ferry in sight.

The crux of Seven Serpents are two ferries, one from the Krk island to Cres and another one from Cres back to the Croatian mainland. While the ferry from Krk to Cres goes in regular intervals late into the night, the ferry the decides the race is the one from Cres to mainland. The last evening ferry runs at 9pm and next one only at 6am the next day. During the 2024 edition only one person made it for the afternoon departure and not surprisingly won the race. To reach this ferry in time, one would have to maintain average speed of 16.3 km/h for the first 560 km of the race. Not an unachievable feat on a gravel bike, but a heroic feat on the technical route of Seven Serpents.

I have reached the first ferry at 19:11 with 4 minutes left until departure. Quick stop at a gas station for food and drinks saved me a fortune as the ferry buffet was overpriced and under supplied. On the ferry I reunited with Ben who had a rough day with a few falls. The short - 20 minute sail - meant enough time to eat, drink, and dress up for the night but no rest. The goal was to continue into late night that day and sleep in Beli, village another 50 kilometers further on Cres. Disembarking the ferry I turned off my brain, turned on music in my headphones, and phased out until reaching the accommodation at midnight.

The top riders all met at the 6am ferry, I slept in and was the only one to take the next one at 9am, having a long road ahead. From the ferry, we climbed all the way to the top of the Vojak hill at 1364 m which took better part of the morning all the way into the afternoon. After Vojak I had a rough time and was low on energy, scouting for first chance to stop and eat which didn’t come for another 50 km until reaching Buzet. Excited about a seeing a grocery store I turned sharply and fell on a wet road, injuring my wrist, palm, tight, and elbow. Licking my wounds I bought a lot of food and decided to ride further to see if the pain will numb or not.

Ride from Buzet was tough, I wasn’t having a good time. Luckily, I met Yuri - a Belgian rider - an hour later and a little chit chat brought me back up. With the regained energy and optimism I set my sight on Novigrad on 720th kilometer as the next stop and kept pedaling. In the meantime I called Iris to chat, and ask her to book me an accommodation for the night to give the body a little rest before the final push to the finish line. At 21:00 I arrived to Brtonigla where I stayed for the night.

Waking up early was easy with only 110 km left to go. I quickly checked our WhatsApp group to learn that Ondra, a friend, finished in 3rd place in the night and Zuzka arrived not long after, securing the first woman spot and 4th place overall. On the first climb of the last day I met Leonard from Switzerland with whom I talked a rode with for next 2 hours before leaving him behind, and focusing on the last big climb of the race. The last peak was Slavnik at 1028 meter. It was raining again but withg 2 hours left I couldn’t care less anymore; onward towards the finish line.

I reached Trieste 12:01 after 3 days, 4 hours, and 44 minutes with overall average speed (including stops) of 10.94 km/h. My whole body was sore, but I was happy - first gravel race done and dusted and compared to trail running - no stomach issues for the whole race. As I am writing this report, I have 10 days left until the Mozart Ultra race in Salzburg, my legs are still tired, but I think I learned my lesson in slow and steady wins the race. Until the next time, bye.

Bike

Basso Palta (2023 model) in a stock configuration with shorter stem (90mm).