![full podium](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/751GY1gpwqKfSVS3VYqzF3/12c26d9cc8e46d3279478b2de670b7ea/full_podium.png)

All full 1700 km distance riders that were still on on the course have made it to the finish! Juris Sniķis won the race with a comfortable margin of a full day. This was his 3rd attempt at winning Hydra Epic and I'm sure he's happy to conclude this journery. As some say, third time's the charm.

After Zarasai __Haroldas Kulvietis__ managed to overtake __Renatas Rimša__ and moved into 2nd position and even though he broke his front fork, he somehow managed to solve the issue fast enough to hold his place in the leaderboard. That's some fast problem solving skills right there. In the rider preview it was mentioned that the 54 year old __Renatas Rimša__ is a rider who seems to have figured out Hydra Epic. With 2 out of 2 finishes in the long distances, Renatas did not disappoint in his 3rd Hydra Epic as well.

Big kudos also to __Povilas Krugliakovas__. Anyone who finishes this epic challenge is a winner!

With that I conclude the race commentary. I hope you enjoyed following the race as much as I did, and I hope to see many more participants next year!

End of a journey

As the 6th day of the race begins, all participants of the 1000 km race have reached the finish in Zarasai. Assuming I didn’t overlook anything, in total 11/21 of the solo riders and 3/4 pair riders managed to finish the distance. The fastest finish time by __Donatas Puidokas__ was 3d 11h 18min while the final finishers __Dominykas Pagirys__ and __Nerijus Zableckis__ rolled in after 5d 15h 4min, resulting in total average speeds in the range 7.4-12.00 km/h. Although this is the first time riding this route in this direction, the results are pretty consistent with the ballpark estimate of a 10 km/h average. For non-participants this number might seem oddly low but that’s the reality in Hydra Epic. It forces you to enjoy the surrounding nature no matter what your ambitions are.

Unfortunately the full distance saw 3 more scratches, meaning that only 4 participants are still out on the course - __Juris Sniķis__, __Renatas Rimša__, __Haroldas Kulvietis__, and __Povilas Krugliakovas__. Last year there was a similar number of full distance participants at the start and 5 finishers in the end.

__Juris Sniķis__ reported that he had multiple mechanical issues yesterday. He fell over at standstill and bent his rear derailleur hanger. He didn’t notice it at first, but on the first climb his chain fell over in the spokes. 

![photo 2023-06-08 12-29-18](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1EErBcPeFRYN8maa4lyjzJ/4b37a81cf383176f9d61009b8cdd1955/photo_2023-06-08_12-29-18.jpg)

He managed to deal with the issue only to puncture later on. He had no problems fixing that as well and is steadily approaching a hard-earned victory. He also noted that he met some fans along the way. They were a bit quiet and shy, but that’s quite normal for people around here.

![photo 2023-06-08 12-29-22](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3LoyrMm3zizMtTPUJq0Fpe/3f7bab7b0688fa87b42d0babde3bae55/photo_2023-06-08_12-29-22.jpg)


That's a wrap for 1000 km!

In one of the earlier posts I mentioned a dodgy border crossing. Here is a snapshot of how it looks from some of the riders. Crossing this bridge at some points feels like choosing between sacrificing yourself or your bike to the river, but overall it is really fun!

![border bridge](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7ED5vCLWHQZAayKTvAfk2I/bb77332c5e7f286219c78b0572a4d642/border_bridge.png)

The last 2 days have seen a lot of success and progress but at the same time many heartbreaks and failed expectations. From the 57 riders who started in Elva, 20 have decided to stop, meaning the current scratch rate is 35%. It seems that the first cold nights and rain did some damage, but overall riders are doing better than last year where the final scratch rate was 57.5%. Of course a lot can still happen, but generally riders are more likely to make it to the finish if they get past the halfway mark.

__Donatas Puidokas__ managed to maintain his lead and was the first 1000 km distance finisher. Behind him, __Konstantinas Rogovenko__ overtook 5 (!!!) riders in front of him after pushing through the night and finished second. Continuing solo after losing his pair, making up lost time and cycling through the night shows that Konstantinas was in a really good shape and nothing could hold him back. Finally, __Benjaminas Alimas__ overtook __Mindaugas Gaurilčikas__ in the early hours and finished 3rd, completing the imaginary 1000 km podium. Mindaugas lost his position after sleeping for longer than Benjaminas, but at the end of the day what matters the most is finishing and enjoying the experience. Not long after them, __Tatjana Petrauskienė__ and __Pranas Petrauskas__ finished as the first and only pair of the 1000 km distance. Congratulations to all!

![1000 podium](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/37qWmyRbaZHB9RpHSbyGBI/b0771e682d115785abee5f106c674611/1000_podium.png)

The full 1700 km distance has been a wild roller coaster. __Justinas Liorentas__ who was in the leader group decided to quit just as he crossed the border to Lithuania. He was exhausted, feeling weak, and had covered just 90 km in 8 hours in one of the fastest sections of the course. __Karolis Matjošaitis__, who also was one of the leaders, quit after reaching the Zarasai checkpoint. He admitted that not taking a sleeping mat was a mistake and on top that had pretty serious stomach issues. That leaves __Juris Sniķis__ in a comfortable lead of almost a day’s worth of riding. While he may sleep in a bit and enjoy the views, it will be interesting to see what’s happening behind him as there are 4 riders almost together. From these 4, __Vytautas Kružikas's__ ankles have swollen up quite a bit, but that doesn't seem to influence his mood too much and overall the group seems to be in a good mood. It’s up to them to decide if they just tour to the finish or turn on the afterburners as the night sets.

![crazy ankles](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4aY15fSPUvo2fzwCCJURYq/c1414118c4b615a6db7565d18ea45eeb/crazy_ankles.jpg)

In other news, the 2 Polish riders seem to have decided to race on their own terms. After deciding to ride as a pair somewhere in Estonia, they also seem to have decided to ride a completely different route. Who knows, maybe they will find some epic new trails for Hydra Epic VII? Also, __Jonas Bergvall__ from Sweden has shown some serious commitment in completing the race after a DNF last year. He had a mechanical issue, and even though the checkpoint in Riga was a bike shop, apparently that wasn’t enough and he ended up in a auto repair shop. As of now he seems to have solved the issue and is well on his way to finish the race!

![jonas fix](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/484NbOaYBXYsbrEBGRgNq/ab001841c0f1f0c9d61f92b639f23367/jonas_fix.jpg)

Days 4 and 5

A peculiar thing about the Baltics is that there are coffee vending machines even in some of the most remote villages and I don’t think anyone has ever seen them being serviced. Quite possibly these machines have some sort of mind of their own, and if we ever see an AI uprising, my bet is that these Lavazza, Lofbergs, and Merrild machines will be at the forefront. For now though, the riders for sure are happy to come across some jaffa juice during the darkest hours.

![coffee](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/01gW5FpLWaOnYzmxzsvIOg/31646c26b0696009f1850a9126a1745a/coffee.jpg)

The rainiest day of the race saw several people scratching. However, the most common reason for scratching wasn’t the weather but instead it was knee pain. One of the participants leaving the race was __Algimantas Alksmantas__ who was in 2nd place in the 1000 km distance. He got his feet wet somewhere in the swamp and never really got warm afterwards. This led to sickness and in turn a scratch. It’s always disappointing to end a race prematurely but no race is more important than your own health. 

With Algimantas out, there is now about a 9 hour gap between 1000 km 1st place __Donatas Puidokas__ and 2nd place __Mindaugas Gaurilčikas__. Of course it’s not over till it’s over, but so far it looks like Donatas has a good chance of securing first place. The only question remains is will he be able to hold his lead over the 1700 km distance leaders __Karolis Matjošaitis__, __Juris Sniķis__, and __Justinas Liorentas__ and reach the 1000 km Zarasai checkpoint  first overall?

After Zarasai it will be a battle between Karolis, Juris, and Justinas. Justinas was the first to enter Latvia but now is the last to enter Lithuania. Is he fading, suffered mechanicals or maybe tactically having a bit more rest to push on later? I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

Riders have recorded temperatures as low as -1.5 degrees Celsius (29F) during the night. Combined with the rain and tough sections, the going has been slow. A potential relief for riders is that from Tuesday the weather will get sunny and warm again, as well as that the Riga-Zarasai is the easiest section of the whole course.

![2R9A4130-15](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/60DQMXOMjjDZgxi920EOXl/74ab7dd3ae87b9a248766f7221318239/2R9A4130-15.jpg)

![prom rough 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3CqjLcfcHuFswyRXuW8S5p/cdba3dc4ad4bb399aca9361daf25b619/prom_rough_2.jpg)

![sum rough](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2jXvFEjvNKF1qoswuDy18m/927abe9c15fdd7f3e27248dcc38aa3ff/sum_rough.jpg)

To end on a positive note, here’s a picture from our only female participant __Tatjana Petrauskienė__ who is riding together with her partner __Pranas Petrauskas__. From their updates on her Instagram it seems that they are a great team and nothing can stand between them. Mr. Cibulis has a lot to learn from them.

![photo 2023-06-05 11-12-56](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5JatVtZlKnrAp1TcWpWqrp/678a4fb2cd9d38b81e89158dcb58f1ac/photo_2023-06-05_11-12-56.jpg)


Day 3: Knees weak arms spaghetti

Some of the riders confirmed that it indeed was a really cold night yesterday. Those who chose to settle down early and start early may have had it easier since the early morning hours are the coldest and being already on the move at that time helps a lot.

Lithuanian __Martynas Cibulis__ managed to hold the lead and finished the 500 km distance in 28 h 1 min. Just 1h and 7 min ahead of Latvian __Matīss Valdbergs__ who led most of the first day but decided to rest for 4 h during the night. Estonian __Tiimo Tõnisson__ finished the 500 km podium after arriving in Valga after 36 h 4 min. Officially though Valdbergs will count as the winner since Cibulis’s official time will be his partner’s time because on paper they are riding as a pair. Rules are rules. Anyway, if we count him in, it means that a person from each Baltic State shares our imaginary podium. While this could theoretically happen for the 1000 km distance as well, unfortunately no Estonian is present in the 1700 km race.

While the leaders of the race are wrapping up the Estonian section and heading into Latvia, most participants will hang out in Estonia for another day. Whatever the case, it looks like everyone will get wet on Sunday. There’s a big front coming from the North and it may bring some thunder as well. It will be interesting to see how this will shake up the de facto order of business. In the meantime here are some beautiful snaps from the race photographer Toms Majors. If you fancy live visual updates from the trails, be sure to follow him on Instagram (@majorthetom)

![he6-estonia-1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/F0iRADdDKw9nM07GwFQSY/99551a077d0a7b8bcbe3752a7012d809/fave1.jpg)

![he6-estonia-2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6db69mk2pbFenDuclZO2up/b85b7f82d2483a5d12503a113e417543/fave2.jpg)

![he6-estonia-3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1e1xsc49S1xjKvMeleWgYm/29023dde95a1dbd66bba6c6104aef20f/fave3.jpg)

Friendly neighbour podium

![he6-start](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5M7bnkPeNHriy0pG9gnOny/e8d5a8d2aeafa8545ee2a94c440c5c03/IMG_B5C60568E820-4.jpeg)

As of the time of writing it has been approximately 24h since riders started on June 2nd at 9:00 AM.

The initial twisty section of the course is actually part of the Tartu Rattamaraton - one of the biggest XC Marathon events in the Baltic states that last year gathered over 2500 participants. Hopefully some of the participants will take advantage of this recon when the event takes place this year in September.

![he6-xc-course](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6fMFGr5nyJTP4yAcAAaNrY/3b75c84984af4ef0a74124f9f2d25079/IMG_9949677DD16F-1.jpeg)

As the marathon section ended in Otepää, riders could resupply and move on to hilly gravel roads that slowly transitioned to singletrack hiking trails, allowing riders to test out their gear on the first technical sections.

![he6-trails](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2iorSdMUccsQdfnWIkAli1/a64744fe54f33abea448e365855b6a7c/IMG_B5C60568E820-1.jpeg)

As the day moved progressed and the Sun started setting, most of the riders also started looking for places to sleep. A super cool thing about Estonia's forest management centre RMK is that they maintain an extensive and easy-to-use website of all things outdoors (trails, watchtowers and so on). They also maintain hundreds of campsites all across the country equipped with safe campfire places, chopped wood, tables and in some places also basic huts. All of this is for free and I would highly recommend checking it out if you ever decide to explore Estonia. Most of the riders were aware of this and decided to settle down in one of their campsites along the route. The area around Meenikunnu bog saw something like 15 riders spread out across 3 campsites. A real party!

![he6-watchtower-view](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4ZtPLdSd8rDoyKpLfIos0O/9e79e64fd751e365d841e2ade152e09e/IMG_B5C60568E820-3.jpeg)

It seems that the only rider who didn't sleep at all during the night is __Martynas Cibulis__ who has completely abandoned his pair __Aurimas Dundulis__ and is now ahead of __Matīss Valdbergs__ in the 500km race. Matīss was leading for most of the day but slept for 4h in one of RMK's campsites. Going all-in for the glory, I just hope Martynas and Aurimas can settle their arguments after the race.

The 1000km race is lead by __Donatas Puidokas__ followed by __Algimantas Alksmantas__. Algimantas said before the race that he wanted to just enjoy the race, but also admitted he feels some pressure after being highlighted as a favourite.

The 1700km distance is lead by __Justinas Liorentas__ and __Karolis Matjošaitis__ with __Juris Sniķis__ looking to catch up.

Even though May was one of the driest and warmest months ever, the weather in the last days has gotten milder. The night before temperature anti-records were set in Latvia with some locations recording temperatures below -2 degrees Celsius (28F). Surely this night wasn't much warmer and it will be interesting to follow what effect this will have on the riders in the long run, especially for the 1000 and 1700km distances.

Day 1: Thanks RMK!

This year 55 riders from 6 different countries will gather at the start line to try and finish one of the 3 distances. Majority of the riders are from Lithuania (where the race originates from) and almost half of the participants have participated in Hydra Epic at least once. For __Janno Kusman__	and __Karolis Narkevičius__ this will be their 5th Hydra Epic event! This goes to show that the race is well known and enjoyed by the locals!

Because it is easy to underestimate this race, many riders are returning to settle unfinished business, some are here to raise the bar by choosing a longer distance or finishing faster, while others are here to just enjoy a new version of the route.

__500 km__

The shortest distance sees 9 solo riders and 3 pairs, so 15 riders in total. The vast majority are rookies who are most likely here to test out the waters and just finish. Last year almost 60% of the participants scratched, so incrementally increasing the difficulty is a very wise choice. It will be very interesting to see who takes the lead initially and how things developer later on.

__1000 km__

The medium distance features 25 participants with 2 pairs and 21 solo riders. 13 of them have participated before, so the majority here understand what they are up against. 

Watch out for __Algimantas Alksmantas__ who won the 700 km distance back in 2020. The route has changed since 2020 and back then sleeping outdoors was not mandatory, but the total distance is similar and I am eager to see if Algimantas is well-prepared for the challenge.

Another favourite is __Andrius Galinskas__ who finished 3rd in last year’s 300 km "sprint" distance. It is clear that he has the legs and skill to go fast, but 1000 km is a completely different beast compared to 300 km. One of the differences is that for the shorter distance he didn’t need to carry any sleeping gear.

A special shout out goes to __Tatjana Petrauskienė__ who is the only woman riding this year, and who will be riding together with Pranas Petrauskas. I hope that her adventure inspires other women to join next year!

__1700 km__

This one is for the lone wolves since none of the 15 participants have decided to share this journey with a buddy. 

The heavy favourite is __Juris Sniķis__ who came 2nd in the full 1300 km distance back in 2020, falling behind the winner by less than an hour. He returned in 2022 but decided to scratch after suffering from long COVID symptoms. With some local racing already in the legs, he is looking strong this year and surely will aim for the top spot.

Looking to challenge him might be __Justinas Liorentas__ who also has participated twice. He won the 700 km distance back in 2021 but scratched from the 700 km distance last year. I don’t know why, but last year’s participation means he should have a good idea of what it takes to sleep outside. Let’s hope he will be able to manifest his previous success in a distance that is more than twice as long.

Another solid rider is __Renatas Rimšas__ who completed the 1300 km distance in 2020 and 1000 km distance in 2021. This shows that he is consistent and clearly has the know-how to finish. It is up to him to decide if he wants to race.

As always, anything can happen in a long race. Rookies that have fallen under the radar can turn the leaderboard upside down. Favourites can suffer mechanicals and illness. Only time will tell how the race will unfold!


Startlist

For most dotwatchers Hydra Epic may have slipped under their radar, but there is no doubt that this off-road race stands up to the “epic“ in its name. The route includes some of the most beautiful regions across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia (collectively known as the Baltic States), uncovers trails where even wildlife doesn’t set foot, and has been carefully crafted and adapted over the last 5 editions of the race. This year the race starts in Elva, Estonia and offers 3 distances - 500km to CP1 Valga in Estonia, 1000km to CP3 Zarasai in Lithuania, or the full 1700km distance to Druskininkai in Lithuania.

![he5-start-preparation](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4HudJMdrTZZTZbHH7WWmjr/47600ea88b8ca03c92e2c777fc1f6d1b/preparing_for_start.jpg)

A unique feature of the race since last year is that participants have to sleep outdoors. No accommodation allowed. One can no longer rely on a warm shower, a cozy bed and dried out clothes to reset after a bad day. Everything needs to be planned out, and even though it's almost summer time, warm and sunny days can easily turn into frosty nights.

![he5-frosty-night](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/l5AKCzs5yppaxIiMXAhVh/86364c05cfaf4fc460abb24a0e63a177/rosty.jpg)

If you would look up a list of highest elevation points for each country in Europe, you might giggle at the fact that the highest peak in all of the Baltic States (Suur Munamägi in Estonia) reaches mere 318 meters (1043 feet). Only Denmark (excluding its island Greenland), Malta, Monaco, and Vatican City feature lower elevation extremes. Yes, this region of Europe is flat, but don’t let this fool you because the small little hills can really add up. With an average elevation gain of 823 meters (2700 feet) per 100km (62 miles), a lot of the climbing is concentrated in select regions, features loose road surface, thick tree roots and other technical obstacles. In any case, the steep gradients are sure to bite your legs no matter the length.

![hill](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/01ad5OEn0cA2oREjjaJh6Z/1ce4fb48e1653da6229a7f877212b1e8/hill.jpg)

![2-riders-river-road](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/67GpU71serPXpSZYGm0kaM/26f405610bca9d58b9650d0796926e83/river_shot.jpg)

If riding Hydra Epic was your only impression about the Baltic States, it would be a pretty thorough and good one. Along the route riders will experience vast stretches of forest singletracks, gravel roads along romantic countryside farmsteads, plethora of beautiful lakes and wetland regions, as well as bizarre border crossings that would feel illegal if you accidentally forget that you are in the European Union. One of the only characteristic things that’s missing is the seaside.

![he5-field](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5oKQ0sHCb5YEerYCoxFCbH/ca0646a053470aab379d776d7fd59345/field.jpg)

Participants will also cross national parks in all 3 countries, and in all the previous editions part of the participation fee has been donated to help maintain national parks in Lithuania from where the race originates. An interesting feature of the race is that even though civilization is never too far away, the population density is so low here that it’s easy to find peace without the risk of isolating yourself too far out in a remote region. A perfect getaway as long as you don't mind some hike-a-bikes and bushwhacking.

![he5-forest](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2vluNySGF5Bpk66Nnzn1mp/a83a67868eab5283a390cb07d8900ac0/forest.jpg)

If you would like to get a better feel for the event, here’s a movie as well as my own experience from the previous edition in words, pictures and data. This year the route is largely the same as last year, only in reverse.

Previous edition’s movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qadst-kp0V8&ab_channel=PauliusEpic

Komoot collection of my own experience from last year: https://www.komoot.com/collection/2131632/-hydra-epic-v

Route Preview

Davis Pazars

Hydra Epic VI 2023 Tracking and Commentary: The Hydra Epic trail traverses Baltic countries from north to south, from Estonia, through Latvia to Lithuania over technical cross country singletracks, gravel sections and everchanging forest roads via four checkpoints.

Hydra Epic VI 2023 Tracking

The Hydra Epic trail traverses Baltic countries from north to south, from Estonia, through Latvia to Lithuania over technical cross country singletracks, gravel sections and everchanging forest roads via four checkpoints.

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Hydra Epic VI 2023

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