Paris–Brest–Paris 2027

Every four years, Audax Club Parisien (ACP) organises Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), a randonnée from Rambouillet, 50 km southwest of Paris, to the port city of Brest on the Atlantic coast and back. The 2027 route is 1,220 km long and most riders have 90 hours to complete it. In 2023, 6,820 riders from 70 nationalities registered. The 2027 edition is limited to 8,000 riders.

PBP began in 1891 as a velocipede race, “Paris-Brest and back”, organised by the newspaper Le Petit Journal. About 400 riders registered, 200 started, and 100 finished within ten days. Charles Terront won in 71 h 37 min. Seven editions in all, up to 1951, were open only to racers and road tourists, who rode without coaches or assistance.

ACP, founded in 1904, ran its first 200 km brevet in 1921 and organised the first PBP reserved for randonneurs in 1931: 44 riders, five of them women, finished in under 96 hours. Editions followed in 1948 and 1951, then every five years, then every four years after 1971. After the 2023 edition, the honour roll of finishers holds 26,019 names.

Departures are in waves every 15 minutes, from Sunday 22 August in the afternoon to Monday 23 August in the morning. The first Sunday waves (16:00–16:45, solo bikes) have an 80-hour limit and are meant for the fastest riders. Special machines such as tandems and velomobiles start at 17:00 on Sunday, a women’s wave starts at 17:15, and solo bikes start from 17:45 to 21:15. All of these have a 90-hour limit. On Monday, solo bikes start from 5:00 to 5:45 and all bikes at 6:00, with an 84-hour limit because there is one less night on the bike.

You choose your wave when you pre-register or register, depending on places available. Participants who pre-register with a longer BRM can choose before others. The women’s wave is optional, and women are free to join any other wave.

Everyone must ride the full series of BRM 200, 300, 400 and 600 between 1 November 2026 and 30 June 2027, however experienced they are. The distances are minimums, so a BRM 300 can replace a 200 and a BRM 1000 can replace a 600, but you still need four BRMs in total. BRM time limits are 13 h 30 (200 km), 20 h (300 km), 27 h (400 km) and 40 h (600 km). You can find qualifying rides in the Audax LV calendar or the ACP BRM calendar.

BRMs are organised in almost 70 countries, and ACP’s BRM calendar lists them all. If you plan to ride one abroad, make sure it is listed there and falls within the qualifying dates, and ask us if in doubt.

Registration takes two steps, both on the PBP website: optional pre-registration from 16 January 2027, then final registration from 29 May to 4 July 2027. On registration day you must have completed at least 3 of the 4 qualifying BRMs, and the 4th must be completed before 4 July. Riders who did not pre-register can register directly from 29 May in the wave of their choice, within the places left.

Pre-registration lets you reserve a place, because the number of riders is limited to 8,000, and gives you priority in choosing your start wave. It is optional, but riders who skip it risk missing out. The BRMs you rode between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026 decide when you can pre-register; RM events of 1200 km or more count as a BRM 1000. Dates: 1000 km/RM 1200+ from 16 January 2027; 600 km from 30 January; 400 km from 13 February; 300 km from 27 February; 200 km from 13 March; and riders with no BRM in that window from 27 March. The €50 fee is non-refundable but deducted from the registration fee. Pre-registrations not confirmed by final registration on 12 June 2027 are cancelled and the places freed up. After that date, registered riders can change their start time to one of the freed slots.

ACP will decide the 2027 fee in 2026, so check paris-brest-paris.org for the current price. It will include the €50 pre-registration fee, GPX files and route signposting, a visibility vest and official bottle, the logbook and its case, a frame plate with electronic chip, luggage storage at the start, online tracking, a meal on arrival and the finisher’s medal. It will not include catering or accommodation at the controls, or repatriation if you break down or withdraw. The final fee is refundable until 3 July 2027, minus €50; from 4 July it is not refundable, and registrations cannot be transferred or resold. Individual insurance with medical assistance and repatriation is required.

No. Audax LV does not organise bag drops, and ACP says none are planned at the controls. ACP does plan to let you leave a bag in Rambouillet at the start, and the registration fee includes luggage storage there. Other organisations, such as travel agencies, have offered bag drops in the past. We do not know what will be offered in 2027 or by whom.

Arrive in France early enough to start PBP fully rested; this is a key component of success. It also leaves time to assemble your bicycle and fix any problems from a less-than-satisfactory journey. Train extensively with long, frequent rides. The most successful finishers have at least 5,000 kilometres of training in the spring and summer leading up to PBP. You also need a “never give up” attitude to overcome the tough moments every PBP rider faces.

Yes. The limit is 8,000 riders, and 2,500 places are reserved for French participants until 31 March 2027. After that date, the places not taken by pre-registered riders are opened to everyone.

The 2027 route is 1,220 km with 16 controls, from Rambouillet to Brest and back. It is largely new: it uses different roads out and back over most of the way, and passes close to Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres. It is entirely on asphalt and on roads open to traffic, so French traffic law applies and you ride on the right. The route is marked with arrows, one colour per direction, and ACP will provide GPX tracks. The detailed route had not been published at the time of writing.

You are given a brevet card, which is stamped at each control, and a frame plate with an electronic chip that records your passage. Stopping at every control is mandatory, and secret controls may be set up. If proof of a control is missing, your ride cannot be homologated. Tracking is not continuous: family and friends can follow your progress through the controls on a web page shared before the start. Your only individual time limit is your arrival in Rambouillet, 80, 84 or 90 hours after your start. Controls have common opening and closing times for everyone.

PBP is self-supported. Support vehicles on the course are forbidden and risk a heavy penalty or disqualification. Vehicle assistance is only allowed in the control towns and their immediate surroundings, and must be declared at registration. It is totally forbidden near Mont-Saint-Michel, at Roz-sur-Couesnon and Pleine-Fougères. Encouragement and refreshments offered by the public do not count as assistance.

Only human-powered machines; electric assistance is prohibited. Aerobars are allowed, though ACP recommends not using them when riding behind someone. Velomobiles, recumbents, trikes, tandems, triplets, folding bikes and scooters start in the special-machines wave. ACP recommends road or gravel tyres, 28 mm or wider if your frame allows, because the whole route is on asphalt.

PBP is self-supported, so getting back to Rambouillet is your responsibility, although ACP will help if it can. The registration fee does not cover repatriation. If you are exhausted, it may be wiser to stop and take a train back to Rambouillet. If you are only a little behind your time limit and feel fine, ACP encourages you to finish anyway: there will be people at Rambouillet to welcome you several hours after the final deadline.

Send your questions by email to info@audax.lv or use the contact form on this website, and we will be happy to help. Before PBP 2027, we plan to hold a presentation where you can also get answers to your questions.