Shades of Speed 2026

Shades of Speed is a cycling marathon in Bad Feilnbach, Germany, featuring Germany's largest route selection. The event takes place over a summer weekend, offering both road and gravel riding. Participants can choose from short, middle, long, and very long options, rather than a single fixed distance. It is not a closed-road race with timing chips; all routes are ridden without timekeeping and without road closures, giving it the feel of a demanding mass ride rather than a conventional race. The route options range from DIE.KURZE at 70 km with 600 metres of climbing to DIE.LANGE at 215 km with 2,300 metres. Other named routes include DIE.SEEN, DIE.PANORAMICA, and DER.KLASSIKER. The program also includes gravel routes, a RIDE.OUT elimination format, and a 306 km stage with 3,100 metres of elevation gain. Marcus Burghardt, an 11-time Tour de France rider with 17 years in the pro peloton, created the event and organizes much of it himself, stating his aim was to build a cycling event from his own passion and expertise.