Adventure lovers know that the desire to feel adrenaline is practically an addiction. Taking our lives to the limit with extreme activities and sports has become a fundamental part of the adventurer's daily life.
For this reason, those who practice extreme sports enjoy the most extreme moments, especially when they participate in competitions in which they can put their skills into practice and demonstrate their talents, regardless of the possible dangers along the way.
What are the most extreme sports competitions?
Competitions, festivals and events of extreme sports They are the best! There are many adventure encounters in the world, from the strangest and most original, to the most classic, legendary and “conventional”.
In each of them we are able to witness great athletes confronting the forces of nature, the highest mountains, the most brutal waves, or the longest and most dangerous routes, and also surpassing themselves every year.
Do you know any of them? Discover some of the best and most extreme adventure competitions from around the world!
THE X GAMES
If you are a die-hard lover of extreme sports and freestyle, you're sure to love the X-Games as much as we do! This extreme sports competition, which perfectly combines passion, action and music, brings together professionals from all over the world in various categories under the tutelage of the American sports media group ESPN, since this competition was created in 1995.
How do the X Games work?
Competitors compete to win gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as cash prizes, but above all they compete for the prestige that comes with being among the top positions in this internationally renowned competition.
Just like the Olympic Games, there are two versions of the X Games: the summer and winter versions. Extreme sports disciplines included in the summer competition include skateboarding, BMX, freestyle motocross, inline skating, rally, scootering, surfing, and motorsports. The winter version features snowboarding, skiing, and snowcross.
The editions of this competition of extreme sports They do not always take place under the same stage or in the same place, so they can be held in different locations around the world. In addition, the sporting competition is combined with the famous "X Fest", a festival that offers live music, autograph sessions with athletes and other interactive amenities for the enjoyment of spectators, fans and also the competitors themselves.
THE ABANCA GALICIA CLASSIC SURF PRO
What is the Pantin Classic?
Previously it was known as the “Pantin classic” or also the “Galicia Surf Pro”. This great competition is held on Pantín beach, Valdoviño (in the province of A Coruña) as part of the circuit of the World Surf League (WSL), where the world's surfing elite meets live and in person. a tough double QS 10,000 test, which suggests it may be the most important championship on the European circuit.
The Abanca Galicia Classic Surf Pro brings together the best of world surfing every year to compete in competitions for both men's and women's categories.The world's best surfers gather annually at this location to compete and perform aerial displays, tubes, re-entries and acrobatics.
This competition of extreme sports It has become an event that revolves around this extreme sport, hosting more than 100,000 people and offering an exemplary atmosphere, shops selling clothes and surfing items, food stalls, music, surfing baptisms, among many other activities. In recent years, the event has been organised by the Club Praia de Pantín, with ABANCA as its main sponsor.
THE OR SHELLFISH
This is one of the most important urban culture and action sports festivals in Europe since its creation in 2001. It is a free, open-air festival in which more than 160,000 people experience first-hand for three days the top ten extreme sports competitions, exhibitions, a variety of gastronomic options, cultural events, break dancing, graffiti exhibitions, concerts and more, in the Maritime Port of the city of Vigo, very close to the historic district of this great city.
Where is O Marisquiño celebrated?
O Marisquiño takes place on an area of more than 150,000 square metres where the major events of the festival are held, facing and next to the sea, specifically on the Paseo de las Avenidas, the Muelle de Trasatlánticos, the Náutico and the Espigón, displaying the spaces for the various extreme and cultural sports disciplines that have become a flagship event of this location.
The festival presents three world cups, the World Cup Skateboarding Street, the World Cup Skateboarding Miniramp and the Dirt FMB World Tour, which are counted towards global rankings and where the best riders at national and international level meet. More recently, it has incorporated the FIBA 3x3 Basket and has made the jump to the Gold category of Dirt Jump.
THE GRANDVALIRA TOTAL FIGHT
What is it about? Grandvalira Total Fight?
The Grandvalira Total Fight is today one of the most renowned snowboard and freestyle competitions at national and international level! This extreme competition is one of the most interesting because it puts the talent, tricks and original style of the competitors into competition, as well as their skills as snowboarders in female and male categories.
This slopestyle competition in snowboarding and freeskiing was founded in 2005 and by its second edition it had already achieved three stars on the TTR (Ticket To Ride Tour) calendar, a leading circuit in snowboarding internationally.
But in 2009, the TTR circuit awards one more star to the competition! Its 4 stars generate an international boom that coincides with the arrival of higher level riders to this great competition, which takes place in The El Tarter Snowpark: one of the pioneering parks on the Peninsula.
The Grandvalira Total Fig, the biggest freestyle competition in southern Europe, receives finally (in 2013) their 5 stars on the TTR circuit in snowboarding and enters theto Gold category in the AFP circuit, an international benchmark in freeskiing.
THE DAKAR RALLY
Dakar Rally route: What is it like?
Win or survive? The Dakar Rally has become one of the most dangerous and extreme car racing competitions of recent times. Previously known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, it is an annual competition of rally raid Organized by the ASO (Amaury Sport Organization) since December 26, 1978, the year in which it was founded.
Originally, the race was supposed to start in Paris and finish 10,000 kilometres away in the capital of Senegal, in West Africa. The competition then moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, but in 2019 it was announced that it would take place in Saudi Arabia in the Middle East with 12 stages, five thousand timed kilometres and more than 7,800 km of route in total, where its competitors put all their impetus, courage and sporting talent on the most difficult terrain in the world for this competition.
For years it has been recognized as one of the most demanding and challenging car races in the world, and it doesn't seem to have any intention of stopping!
The UTMB TRAIL RUNNING (MONT-BLANC ULTRA-TRAIL)
There is little introduction to the famous Ulta-Trail de Mont-Blanc! This renowned mountain ultramarathon takes place annually in the Alps, crossing France, Italy and Switzerland, with more than 10,000 competitors covering a distance of around 172 km and a positive gradient of around 10,000 metres. Every year, the world's trail elite meets in Chamonix alongside the rest of the amateur runners, looking forward to competing in the event's 7 races.
What is the UTMB Ultra Trail de Montblanc like?
Today it is considered the most demanding and prestigious trail running race on the planet. It is a legendary race that offers both runners and humble spectators a unique experience that leaves more than one person breathless.
Venturing into this race around Mont-Blanc means, above all, overcoming oneself from within, where effort, dedication and impetus originate from within the competitors, which ultimately leads them to cross and overcome the most beautiful peaks and reach the final goal.
Ultra Trail Montblac record
The record for the Montblac ultratrail is held by Pau Capell who won the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in 20 hours, 19 minutes and seven seconds. He is the first non-French winner since the Spaniard Kilian Jornet won in 2011..
THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF EXTREME SPORTS (FISE)
The International Festival of Extreme Sports (FISE) is the most important freestyle sports competition in Europe! It features athletes in the categories of BMX, skateboarding, inline skating, freestyle motocross, wakeboarding, mountain biking, slackline and mountain biking, in the city centre of Montpellier, in the Rives du Lez district (France).
The festive and adrenaline-filled atmosphere of this competition reaches 550,000 spectators in a 5-day celebration that combines extreme sports, parties, gastronomy, workshops, concerts and lots of fun, specially designed for fans of freestyle extreme sports.
Since when has FISE existed?
FISE was born in 1997 in Montpellier in the south of France, and from 2014 the FISE World Series was launched, with whose events it has been possible to transfer the best of this championship to various spots around the planet. Another advantage is that it is a free event designed for lovers of the most extreme adventures and extreme sports!
THE JUNGLE MARATHON
What is the Jungle Marathon about?
Among the most extreme and tough races that exist we find the Jungle Marathon or Jungle Marathon, reserved only for the bravest and most adventurous runners, because this is no ordinary marathon. It is held annually in the Brazilian Amazon and beyond, where the true dangers of the jungle are found.
During the race, the 75 competitors face high temperatures, which range from 40ºC with 99% humidity, rivers full of alligators and piranhas, and also very lush vegetation with little light, which hides minstrel fauna ranging from snakes to jaguars.
The Jungle Marathon, which was officially launched in 2003, is held in three different distances. The shortest edition is 42.2km, although you can also run a distance of 127km divided into four stages. The longest version is a battle that covers a total of 254km, which is held in six stages.
This is a competition in which physical, psychological and orientation skills merge with the spirit of survival and the love of extreme adventure in one of the most splendorous natural settings of all. There is no definitive course, but competitors face 6 arduous days of juggler challenges to reach the finish line, providing their own food and water, building their own shelters and facing all possible obstacles. Would you dare to participate in this competition? extreme sports competition so intense?
THE SEA OTTER CLASSIC
What is the Sea Otter Classic?
The Sea Otter Classic is a major and renowned cycling and outdoor adventure sports festival, held since 1991 at the former Fort Ord in Monterey County, California (United States). In its first edition it welcomed 350 athletes and another 150 spectators. Today it welcomes more than 9,600 athletes and exceeds the 72,500 fans who gather to see the best of cycling and enjoy 4 days full of great adventures at the main cycling festival in the world.
The event is named for the sea otter, a mammal native to the area. From 1991 to 2002, the Sea Otter Classic was held in March, and in 2003 it was moved to April to take advantage of the milder climate along the California coast.
What is Sea Otter Europe Bike Show Giron?
In Europe, the Sea Otter Europe Bike Show has been held in Girona – Costa Brava since 2017, which has its origin and inspiration in the Sea Otter Classic.Sea Otter Europe is perhaps the best and most important bike festival in Europe for young talents and established professionals in this sport! Have you ever participated?
THE BARKLEY MARATHON
What is the Barkley Marathon?
You may not have heard much about this curious adventure competition, but the Barkley Marathon is perhaps one of the most extreme, demanding and mysterious sporting events in existence! In its history, only 15 people have been able to successfully complete its arduous course, since it was started in 1986 by its creator Gary “Laz” Cantrell, known simply as “Lazarus Lake”. This is an ultra-distance race that goes a little outside the typical canons, becoming the toughest and most extreme endurance test in the world.
It is not a conventional race, and in fact it is quite strange, starting with the fact that its registration process is secret and difficult; only through an email at a specific time and date to its creator (explaining your motivations and your curriculum of skills) can you receive or not the opportunity to be one of the 40 privileged runners to participate in the strange race. Barkley Marathon. Furthermore, it takes place on an equally secret date, in an unknown location in the state of Tennessee, United States.
Why is the Barkley Marathon so difficult?
The objective is to cover 160 kilometres with a gradient of more than 20,000 metres in a time limit of 60 hours. It consists of 5 laps of free navigation, where distance is really the least important thing. The most extreme part comes from the gradient, the need for optimal navigation and the unknown conditions that the competitors are venturing into.
The appeal of this competition lies in the symbolism of the subject matter. As you go along the path you must collect pages from 14 hidden books, which the competitors must tear out and hand over as proof that they have completed the journey. Interesting, isn't it?
Without prior supplies, assistance of any kind, or checkpoints, the forty runners simply venture into the heart of nature with their dorsal, compass and watch without GPS, which is the only thing they receive from the organization before starting.
Barkley Marathon Netflix Documentary
His popularity has multiplied in recent years, especially after the 2014 launch of The Race That Eats Its Young (The Race that Eats Youth), the Netflix documentary that explores this strange and extreme competition. Would you dare to send an email to “Lazarus Lake”?
Do you love adventure competitions and events and extreme sports as much as we do? Tell us what some of your favorites are!
