The Mountain Races Podcast

The clock has finally wound down. After more than fourteen days, 2,060 kilometres and 38,000 metres of climbing, the 2026 Silk Road Mountain Race comes to an end on the shores of Issyk-Kul, at the finish line at Hotel Zeto. Riders roll in sun-weathered, filthy and running on empty — five spokes gone and a wheel rebuilt in Bishkek, blistered hands from one last descent of sand and cobbles, a phone broken on day two, a mascot named Beaker who's been everywhere and never had a wash. We greet them as they arrive on the final day of racing. Riders featured in this episode: Walter Mayerhofer — Cap 109 Luke Patch — Cap 125 Nina Holtrup — Cap 212A Verena Walter — Cap 212B Frank Soll — Cap 161 Avri Beach — Cap 15 Thomas Quirk — Cap 136 Matthew Franklin — Cap 59 Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The race clock is ticking into its final twenty-four hours, and time has gone strange — seconds stretching into hours, hours vanishing in the blink of an eye. High on Ükök Pass, the media team hikes to 3,920 metres alongside riders bouldering their loaded bikes up gray scree toward a hard blue sky, some doing the climb twice to carry bikes and bags separately. Beyond it lie Kegeti, the bonus climbs of Kokorik, and finally the shores of Issyk-Kul. We hear from riders all over the map as they navigate the final days of this year's race. Riders featured in this episode: Anirudh Dagar — Cap 41 Toon Roebben — Cap 147 Tom Baker — Cap 201A Adam Carlson — Cap 201B Andrew Poynter — Cap 134 Paul Creusvaux — Cap 39 Rob MacLennan — Cap 104 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Completing the 2,000-plus-kilometre course in nine days, 15 hours and 51 minutes, Nathalie Schneitter took the women's win and tenth overall at the 2026 Silk Road Mountain Race. She came to Kyrgyzstan with a professional pedigree few could match — a former junior world champion, elite World Cup winner, and Olympian in cross-country mountain bike — but almost no experience of racing this long or this remote. She came, in her own words, out of curiousity: to see how her body would handle the distance, the altitude and the solitude. The answer was a patient, calculated ride that came down to the final quarter, when a race-defining night high on the mountain turned a multi-hour deficit to Kerry into the lead. In this episode, Nathalie shares all about her winning ride, the delicate balance between pedalling and faffing, running out of food on the climb to Arabel, and the tight, thrilling race against Kerry. Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justinas Leveika is the overall winner, and first man, of the eighth edition of the Silk Road Mountain Race, finishing in 7 days, 16 hours and 56 minutes. In this episode, Justinas shares his winning ride: surviving on fluids and pickle juice through the brutal first days, falling into a glacier river in the dark, and the ins and outs of a race he never expected to lead. Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Nils Laengner Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kegeti Pass is one of the best mountain passes in all of Kyrgyzstan. Control Car 1 spent a gorgeous sunny day, catching riders as they make their way toward the summit after the brutal hike-a-bike over Ukok the day before. What comes out, between the switchbacks, is everything at once — Kristen close to tears one minute and calling herself invincible the next, Paul laughing off a welded frame and a breakfast of sheep-butt fat, Nick finding the wire he needs wrapped around his own cassette. Two years lived in ten days, as one rider puts it: not sure whether to laugh or cry, and doing both. Riders featured in this episode: Antti Laaksonen — Cap 220A Teemu Lemmettylä — Cap 220B Paul Creusvaux — Cap 39 Kristen Tonsager — Cap 168 Andrei Ostanin — Cap 124 Rasmus Bozyk — Cap 202A Nick Perkins — Cap 126 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day ten of the Silk Road Mountain Race, and at Checkpoint 3 in Tamga the clock is running down on the back of the field — the general classification cutoff closes at 4pm, and these are the last riders to get their stamps in under the wire. Riders featured in this episode: Frank Soll — Cap 161 Erika Bout — Cap 23 Leonie Leitgeb — Cap 99 Kristen "Kiki" Alan — Cap 5 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day nine of the Silk Road Mountain Race, and the cutoff for CP3 is looming. Riders arriving are salt-stained and the fatigue is setting in — peeling faces, wrecked lips, bodies ripped thin on Coca-Cola and M&Ms, one pair swollen with altitude sickness, another kept awake all night by cows licking their tent. We hear from them washing kit and hosing down bikes, still lost in the strange parallel universe of following a little blue line for ten days straight. Riders featured in this episode: Nina Holtrup — Cap 212A Verena Walter — Cap 212B Philly Koehli — Cap 218A Bill Mulligan — Cap 218B Niek Bloks — Cap 19 Antti Laaksonen — Cap 220A Teemu Lemmettylä — Cap 220B Toon Roebben — Cap 147 Tom Gibbs — Cap 63 Stephane van Rooyen — Cap 178 Anirudh Dagar — Cap 41 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Danil Usmanov Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day eight, and CP2 is now officially closed. The race clock is past halfway, the field strung out across Kyrgyzstan's high passes on the long haul to their third stamp at Tamga. This year the country has shown its old face: scorching heat one day, snow and freezing cold the next, and peanut butter mud that clings to everything. We hear from riders about their journeys so far from CP3. Riders featured in this episode: Cameron Bristol — Cap 27 Victor Kouzov — Cap 96 Stéphane Logerot — Cap 102 Aurimas Mickevicius — Cap 114 Paul Creusvaux — Cap 39 Kobus van Niekerk — Cap 176 Markus Hager — Cap 69 Niyaz Janzakov — Cap 86 Alvin Escajeda — Cap 53 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over a week into the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race, and the field has settled into the strange rhythm of life on the road: long days in the elements, time melting, an afternoon gone in a breath and a hard minute stretching on forever. Well past the 1000km mark, we hear from riders as they make their way through the endless Burkhan valley. Riders featured in this episode: Virgile Dana — Cap 43 Hannes Noller — Cap 122 Benjamin Schmetz — Cap 42 Andrew Poynter — Cap 134 Chris Rennie — Cap 87 Mateo Paez — Cap 217B Theo Kelsey-Verdecchia — Cap 217A Emma Missale — Cap 210B Sean Geivett — Cap 210A Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Past Naryn and into the long, braided sweep of the Burkhan valley, the riders climb toward the Arabel Pass — 3,800 metres of loose switchbacks that has them off their bikes and pushing after more than 1,300 kilometres in the legs. Arabel is notorious for its weather, riders often getting all four seasons in the span of a few hours — and today was no exception. Riders featured in this episode: Kerry MacPhee — Cap 105 Sofiane Sehili — Cap 157 Martin Hilgers — Cap 76 Nils Kolb — Cap 93 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly a week into the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race, and the field is all over the map. Checkpoint One at Son Kul closed on Wednesday with 146 riders inside the cut, worn down by 47-degree heat, endless climbing, and the countless challenges the route keeps throwing at them. We hear from riders all over the map, plus the team of volunteers stamping brevet cards around the clock. Riders featured in this episode: Rob MacLennan — Cap 104 Kristen Tonsager — Cap 168 Anton Stychneuski — Cap 166 Tom Baker — Cap 201A Adam Carlson — Cap 201B Dmitrii Petrovskii — Cap 128 Jens Van Roost — Cap 177 Avri Beach — Cap 15 Isabelle Scheyltjens — Cap 151 Matthew Irons — Cap 84 Verena Walter — Cap 212B Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As is so often the case in Kyrgyzstan and at the Silk Road Mountain Race… things rarely go to plan. We set out with the best intentions this morning to bring you all the stories. But as they say, shit happens. Today it came in the form of not one, not two but three punctures, and a mad dash to CP2 to catch our leading women. It's been a long day... All of this to say — there won't be a new episode today so that we can take the chance to rest and recover after our own challenges out here. If you haven't listened to all of our episodes yet, make sure to do so, and we'll be back tomorrow for all of the action yet to unfold. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three days into the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race, we climb to three thousand meters and the still, impossibly blue shore of Lake Son Kul, where Checkpoint 1 sits waiting at the yurt camp of Sarybulak. The riders arrive late into the night off the brutal push up Tuz Ashuu — salt-stained, nosebleeds and cut sleep behind them, the day's forty-three-degree heat traded for four degrees and hard wind on the passes above the lake. We hear from riders arriving day and night, and what it's taken to get here. Riders featured: Mateo Paez — Cap 217B Theo Kelsey-Verdecchia — Cap 217A Stéphane Logerot — Cap 102 Tsvetan Ivanov — Cap 215A Dimitar Mihaylov — Cap 215B Virgile Dana — Cap 43 Emma Missale — Cap 210B Sean Geivett — Cap 210A Markus Barden — Cap 14 Sven Brenner — Cap 26 Jimmy Grade — Cap 65 Cynthia Carson — Cap 30 Tom Schwemberger — Cap 156 Felipe Duque — Cap 52 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the second day of Silk Road Mountain Race 2026 we set out early in search of the leading women. We hear from riders as they push into the Karakol Valley, as well as the leading men arriving at Checkpoint 1. Over the past two days many have had to square up to the race they'd imagined and recalibrate to the one in front of them. Riders featured in this episode: Nathalie Schneitter — Cap 153 Kerry MacPhee — Cap 105 Max Riese — Cap 144 Sven Brenner — Cap 26 Ashley Cordingley — Cap 38 Christopher Rennie — Cap 142 Rob MacLennan — Cap 104 Manu Cattrysse — Cap 32 Steven Davis — Cap 44 Alexander Kopp — Cap 95 Justinas Leveika — Cap 100 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The eighth edition of the Silk Road Mountain Race is underway! We hear from riders at the startline and on their way up the first long climb. For many this has been years in the making, and now the racing is officially underway — the adventure has begun and their dream is alive. Kerry MacPhee — Cap 105 Nathalie Schneitter — Cap 153 Rico — Cap 36 Thomas Maberly — Cap 221B Matthew Maberly — Cap 221A Sean Geivett — Cap 210A Alvin Escajeda — Cap 53 Cameron Bristol — Cap 27 Mateo Paez — Cap 217B Daniel Anzola — Cap 10 Mack Faint — Cap 55 Vadim Fatkulbaianov — Cap 56 Steph Skinner — Cap 160 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin the eighth Silk Road Mountain Race in Talas, a small town tucked in a green valley in Kyrgyzstan's far northwest, walled off from the rest of the country by mountains and best known as the birthplace of the hero Manas. We hear from riders on Registration Day before they embark into the mountains. Riders featured: Avri Beach — Cap 15 Lajos Köves — Cap 97 Rob MacLennan — Cap 104 Alvin Escajeda — Cap 53 Doug Dunlop — Cap 51 Leonie Leitgeb — Cap 99 Justinas Leveika — Cap 100 Sofiane Sehili — Cap 157 Sara Bukies — Cap 29 Lois Hunter — Cap 214A Jonathan Quarrie — Cap 214B Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Cover photo by Stephen Shelesky Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Thanks to our race partners Albion, Pertex and Tailfin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Silk Road Mountain Race begins 15th August, 2026 at 09:00 local time. Beginning in Tala and finishing on the shores of Issyk-Kul in Cholpon Ata, riders will embark on a route of over 2000km and 35,000m in elevation — the longest route to date. We'll be on the ground throughout the racing, bringing you visual updates on Instagram and our daily race podcast. Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @silkroadmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cynthia Carson, women's winner of Hellenic Mountain Race 2026, fell violently ill on the opening hike-a-bike over Smolikas — what she calls the hardest thing she's ever done. With 700km still to go, she was forced to recalibrate and what follows was a masterclass in relentless self-care, patience, and perhaps a record quantity of glasses of milk consumed. Read the interview Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Riese took the overall win at Hellenic Mountain Race 2026 by just 24 minutes, after a knife's-edge battle with his friend and rival Marc Büchel in the final days. We get into the obsessive route prep, a hailstorm that tipped him toward hypothermia, the full-compromise bike, and the metal-and-drum-and-bass playlist that carried him to the line. Read the interview Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final episode of our Hellenic Mountain Race coverage. We hear from riders at the finish line about their journey, and everything that they learned along the way. Riders featured in this episode: Daniel Magrizos — Cap 40 Colombine Courouble — Cap 33 Jeff Hehn — Cap 214A Efthymios Tsipouras — Cap 43 John Roe — Cap 86 Christina Chappetta — Cap 206A Sabrina Ste-Marie — Caps 206B Giannis Adamoudis — Cap 66 Follow the dots on MAProgress and follow @hellenicmountainrace on Instagram for visual updates from the trail. Production & hosting by Mel Webb Sound design by Ben Crannell Visit our website to learn more about The Mountain Races Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.