The Return of Raid Gallaecia

Raid Gallaecia returns to the Adventure Racing World Series this year, for the first time since hosting the 2021 World Championships.

Raid Gallaecia returns to the Adventure Racing World Series this year, for the first time since hosting the 2021 World Championships. The race will take place from July 19th to 25th and for the first time will cross the border from Spain into Portugal.

Pablo Franco Lopez returns as Race Director and has set the course in the region of O Ribeiro in the most western part of the province of Ourense, near the confluence of the Miño, Avia, Arnoia and Barbantiño River valleys.

“We are excited to show teams this course,” said Lopez. “It has everything you want from an expedition race and it’s time for teams to explore the rich culture, landscapes and heritage of Gallaecia once again!”

It is location rich in natural beauty and is renowned for its traditional Galician architecture, and rich artistic heritage. Medieval villages include forts, Jewish quarters, monasteries and churches, all perfectly integrated with a landscape of water and wine.

Visiting teams can expect to visit deeply incised river valleys flanked by vineyards, which climb as high as 400m, There are verdant oak, birch and chestnut forests, which thrive in a climate with an Atlantic influence, which also helps to moderate the extremes of summer heat. Even so, teams can expect high temperatures and need to factor this into their plans for sleeping during the race.

The natural landscape includes remarkable granite rock formations, including needles and ‘bolos’ (granite boulders), many tumbling waterfalls and rugged peaks rising to 1500m.

The base for Raid Gallaecia 2025 will be in the Caldaria Spa Hotel, near Ourense, a 4 star hotel and spa which will provide a comfortable base to prepare for the race, and to recover afterwards.

The full course will only be revealed to teams just before the race start, and will cover 461kms, with teams expected to take between 74 and 122 hours. More than half of the course distance will be on mountain bikes and 6 of the 10 stages include some trekking, including both kayak stages, where teams will leave the river to find checkpoints on foot. There will also be a canyoning stage to challenge the teams.

Racers will be travelling from Sweden, France, Poland, Finland, Switzerland and Ecuador to take part, and there is a strong Spanish entry of course. The Spanish teams include the highest ranked teams in the field, Keltoi (#35) and Team Endurance (#33) and they will be racing to win the final qualification place for this year’s Adventure Racing World Championship in Canada in September.

Speaking ahead of the race the ARWS CEO Heidi Muller said, “The ARWS is delighted to welcome back Pablo and his highly experienced organising team at Raid Gallaecia. With their technical expertise and passion for their home region I know they will present another course to delight and challenge teams, and having visited Gallaecia for both the World and European Championships I know it’s a perfect area for expedition racing. I wish all of the teams well, and know they will have an incredible adventure in Spain and Portugal.”

Teams arrive in Ourense from Friday July 18th, briefings and a flag parade will take place on the 19th and the race starts on Sunday July 20th.

Live satellite tracking and a full team list can be found at https://tracktherace.com/en/sports-events/adventure-races/raid-gallaecia-2025 and there will be extensive live coverage of the race on the Raid Gallaecia and AR World Series social media channels.

For more information on Raid Gallaecia visit; https://raidgallaecia.com/