Tour Aotearoa Brevet, live.

Cape Reinga to Bluff, self supported

Tour Aotearoa is a 3,000 km bikepacking route from Cape Reinga to Bluff, and every February riders set off together on the Tour Aotearoa Brevet.

The 2027 brevet starts at Cape Reinga on 17 February at 7.30am and on 18 February at 8.30am. The start dates are chosen so riders can cross Ninety Mile Beach at low tide and still start at a reasonable time of day. The route was designed by New Zealand cycling guidebook writer Jonathan Kennett.

The route links New Zealand Cycle Trail Great Rides, Heartland Rides and quiet back country roads with cycle trails, tracks, paths and lanes, from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. Along the way are 30 photo checkpoints, where riders take a photo to show they passed. The route is open to ride at any time of year, but the brevet is the moment when hundreds ride it at once.

A brevet is not a race. Riders follow the set course, carry all their own gear, use no support vehicles and must not finish in under 10 days, and the organiser gives 10 to 45 days to complete it. Each entrant donates $100 to a charity of their choice. Over 300 people entered the 2016 brevet, over 500 rode in 2018 and just over 750 started in 2020.

Riders are spread across the whole country within days, so most friends and families follow along from home. The odd meeting with friends or family on the way is fine under the rules, but support vehicles are not, and riders are asked to leave no trace.

On Livebib you can follow a cyclist who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the organiser.